The Guards of Azkaban
by Jesse Marshall
Summary: What happens when Tom Riddle doesn't become Voldemort, but instead Minister of Magic. He's a generally good guy, and probably one of the better ones that's been in office for a while. He even fought for the humane treatment of imprisoned witches and wizards stating that, "No matter a convicts crime, it is wrong to subject someone to the treatment of Dementors." So, what changed?
1. Chapter One: A Letter

**Chapter One:**

Harry Potter woke up on his eleventh birthday more excited than he ever had before. Today was the day his Hogwarts letter would come for him. He pushed back his comforter and jumped to the floor. The cold hard wood felt nice against his bare feet, and a tiny shiver raised a few goose bumps on his arms. It was already shaping up to be a very hot day and the sun had only been up for a few hours. Long and thin beams of golden sunlight stretched across his bedroom floor, and in the air around him danced tiny dust fragments.

Harry opened his bedroom door silently and crept across the hall to the bathroom. His legs were still heavy from sleep, and the floorboards creaked sharply under his weight. Shutting the bathroom door quietly behind him, he crossed over to the sink. He was a bit short for his age, but it did not prohibit him from being able to reach the counter top and see into the mirror.

Harry smiled at his reflection, watching his wide emerald eyes squint up around the corners. He ran a hand through his untidy black hair, giving it a few unprogressive pats in an attempt to smooth it down a bit. He realized all too soon that this attempt at grooming was going to be all for not. He gave up almost instantly on the idea of keeping his hair tidy, and instead started spiking it up in hopes of giving it a more sophisticated look. In the end, his hair fell back to its natural place and he continued on with his ceremonial morning routine.

After brushing his teeth and trying once more to flatten his hair, Harry left the bathroom for downstairs where he could hear his mother moving around. The smell coming up from the kitchen was delicious, but it was also very hard to place. Harry reached the bottom of the stairs without figuring out what was being cooked. The young boy crossed the living room and into the kitchen to see not only his mother, but his father as well.

"Dad!" The raven haired boy ran to his father, jumping up and into his lap. "I thought you were in Germany or Swissland."

"It's Switzerland," James corrected his son. He gave his hair a small ruffle. Later in life Harry would adopt the idea that his hair had an unruly nature largely in part to this frequent hair ruffling, but at this time it didn't bother him in the slightest. "And no, I came back for your birthday."

James tightened his arms around the boy, pulling him closer to his chest. Harry responded by pulling his arms around his father's neck. It was quiet in the kitchen for a minute or two while the tender moment was shared. All the while James was planning something dastardly. He locked his arms tightly around Harry's back.

"One."

Harry tried in vain to push away from his father, "No dad! No!"

"Two."

"No dad," Harry squealed, giggling wildly the entire time his arms flailing to find something to connect with. "No! Mum will get mad."

"I certainly will not," Lily interjected with a smile. "Not on your birthday, I won't."

"Three!"

Harry was suddenly thrown into the air by an unknown force and suspended by his ankles. The boy's glasses slid slowly to the end of his nose as his father leapt to his feet.

"NO DAD!" Harry was laughing wildly from his spot in the air; his face turning a delicate shade of red as the blood in his body rushed to his head. James had latched his fingers into Harry's side and was tickling him unceasingly. "NODADNOSTOPDON'TNOMOREPLEASESTOP STOP STOP!"

"James," Lily looked up from her spot at the kitchen counter to smile knowingly at her husband. "That's enough now. Harry's gone purple."

James stopped tickling, but left Harry hanging for a minute more.

"Have I really? Lemme see! I wanna see!"

James gave a great laugh, leaving the kitchen to return a second later holding a mirror in his hand. Harry looked into its glossy surface and smiled. It was certainly true, his face had taken on an even purplish tint, but something then caught Harry's eye, and his smile faltered. He looked again at the place he had seen it, but it was gone.

Harry suddenly felt himself go upright again. He took the mirror from his father and stared hard at his forehead.

"Harry, champ, what is it? Got something on your face, have you?" James ruffled his son's hair lightly. Harry smiled, putting the mirror on the kitchen table and smiling at his dad.

"Does this mean you get to come to Diagon Alley with us to get my wand?" Harry looked from his father to his mother and then back again.

James Potter gave a small half-smile before shaking his head apologetically. "No champ, I've got to be back in Germany tomorrow, but you'll be going with your mum and your uncle."

"Uncle Sirius?" Harry's eyes went wide with enthusiasm, but Lily looked a little put out. She gave her husband a questioning eye.

"I told Sirius he could take Harry school shopping with you. He loves the boy Lills and he wanted to get him something from Diagon Alley." Lily gave her husband a sharp grimace. "Nothing dangerous this time, I promise. Besides, Harry really liked last year's present, didn't you Harry?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically at his mother, "Yeah mum, besides, you can hardly see the burn mark anymore." Harry left his father's side, walking over to his mother.

"Please mum, can't Uncle Sirius come with us? Please?"

"He'll be bringing Cathy and Tammy?" Lily directed this question over her shoulder at her husband. She gave her wand a careful flick, and several oranges began to peel themselves.

"Of course."

Lily nodded her assent, and immediately Harry began to run around the house, smiling and laughing.

The rest of the day went extraordinarily fast for Harry. It was as if everything he was doing was happening in fast forward. He had breakfast, went for a walk with his dad, had lunch with both of his parents, and stopped at the cemetery to say hello to his grandparents. When they returned home, Harry had his favorite meal for dinner (Shepherd's pie) followed by cake.

As the last notes of Happy Birthday echoed to him, Harry closed his eyes to make a wish. It was a fairly simple one, and nothing that you would hear any regular child wish for on their birthday. When his dad asked him what it had been, Harry replied the same way he replied every year.

"If I tell you, it won't come true."

They all moved into the living room where Harry's presents were kept. He opened them one by one, marveling at the different items. His mother had gotten him _Hogwarts: A History_ for him to read. Sirius had sent him a card saying that his birthday surprise would come to him tomorrow. Horace Slughorn, one of his mum's old professors from Hogwarts, had sent him a leather bound tome with the title: _Forgotten Potions for Beginners._

Harry's favorite present had come from his father though. He passed it nonchalantly to Harry after he had set his new potions book aside. Harry looked down at the package in his lap with a small smile. It was a brown paper wrapping, and Harry could tell instantly what was in it – clothing.

Harry frowned at his father, "You got me clothes?"

He looked at the package in his lap with a certain and childish grimace.

"It's not clothes. Trust me; you're going to like it."

Harry picked up the package and tore at the brown paper wrapping, opening it with haste. He grabbed the silvery material, and held it up in front of him.

His frowned deepened, "You said it wasn't clothes."

"Yes, well, I lied. Now try it on. I want to see if it fits."

Harry looked at the cloak in his hands. He could already tell that it was much too big for him, but he stood up anyway. His father smiled widely at him.

Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and heard his mother gasp. He turned to look over at her and, at once, was met with a look of shock.

"James Potter, where did you get that?"

Harry looked down at himself and felt his jaw drop in awe. He was standing there, or at least, he thought he was. He could no longer tell. Everything from the neck down was completely invisible.

"It's been in my family for years; passed down through our history. My father got it when he was starting school and so did I. Now, it's yours Harry."

Harry took off the cloak and gave his father a hug. It was a great gift, more than anything Harry could have hoped for today, other than, of course, his birthday wish.

After all the gifts had been opened, and all the wrapping paper had been thrown away; the three Potters all went to sit down in the kitchen. It was almost seven when there came a sharp tapping sound at the kitchen window. There, out in the pale moonlight, sat a large brown barn owl with bright yellow eyes. Tied around his right leg was a small pouch, and in his beak was a rather large and thick looking envelope.

Lily quickly jumped up and opened the window. The owl flew in, dropped the letter right in front of Harry, and was gone again just like that. Written in a beautiful style of calligraphy with green ink was his name and address. It read:

Harry James Potter,

293 Bimbleton Dr.

Godric's Hollow

After he had finished reading his letter, it took him no less than ten time before he got over his excitement, it was time for bed. Night had fallen quickly across their little town, and he had stayed up talking to his parents for quite a while about everything that would be happening at school. Harry went upstairs, brushed his teeth, and climbed into pajamas. He crawled quickly into bed, letting out a wide-mouthed yawn.

James sat on the edge of Harry's bed with a smile on his face. He ruffled Harry's black hair, as his Lily lay down beside him.

"One story tonight Harry, and then you have to say goodnight to your father and I."

"I want to hear the Fountain of Fair Fortune."

Lily pointed her wand at the shelf in the corner of Harry's room, "Accio Beedle the Bard."

After the story was read and the family's goodnights were said, Harry lay in a state of content. He shifted over to his right-side, catching his reflection in his dark bedroom window. The reflection the window gave was an odd one. Harry looked much thinner, almost sickly, and it almost looked like there was a crack in the glass over his eyes. A thin lightning shaped crack that ran right across his forehead.

Rain started to fall against the window, and the first few drops looked like great big tears. Lightning suddenly pierced the sky followed by thunder, and Harry threw himself under the covers, cradling his favorite stuffed animal next to him. It was Frank, the fire-crab.

After awhile the small boy fell asleep, dreaming of tomorrow.


	2. Part One-Chapter Two: The House of Black

(Part One) Chapter Two: The House of Black

It rained all night, and a thick fog had fallen over Godric's Hollow. The street outside of Harry's bedroom window looked like a running river. It was still quite hot outside. The air was humid, and every breath was a bit strained because of it. The room seemed stuffy, but the appalling weather could not deter Harry's fantastic mood.

He smiled, jumping quickly out of bed to run out into the upstairs hallway. His pajama bottoms were old and a bit tattered in places, but they were his favorites. They were simple and a dull faded sky blue. His parents had tried to talk him into wearing something else, but it was hopeless. He could hear his mother downstairs, frying something in the kitchen, and from the soothing aroma that wafted up to him, it was bacon. It was a salty and earthy smell that made his mouth water. He wasn't a huge fan of meat, but bacon was an exception.

He ran downstairs pass the living room, coming to a halt behind his red-headed mother. She had a crisp white kitchen apron tied behind her back in a neat bow. Her thin fingers brushed a wild strand of hair out of her face before she took a glance over her shoulder. Her eyes caught Harry's, and a smile naturally crossed her features.

"Good morning Harry," she said, flipping her fiery red hair out of her eyes with her right hand once again. She gave the wand in her left a sharp flick, turning the bacon over in the skillet.

"Morning. Is dad still here?" Harry asked. He sat heavily at the kitchen counter, watching his mother finish breakfast.

"No dear, he left early this morning. He says he loves you and misses you already," his mother replied, idly tipping the contents of the skillet out onto a paper towel.

After the two of them ate together, they left the house for their morning walk. It was still gently raining, so Lily had to help her son into his bright yellow rubber boots before setting off down the wet road. Though it was a dreary gray sky, the sound of the rushing water was oddly soothing. Harry and Lily had gone about six steps from their house when a groan of absolute irritation reached their ears.

Across the road, running her wrinkled hands through the steady flow of water was one of the Potter's neighbors.

"Mrs. Bagshot," Lily called in greeting from her spot on the sidewalk.

The old woman looked up and over at the two of them, her eyes squinted and her mouth turned down into a deep frown. For a split second she seemed extremely agitated, but her eyes suddenly sparked in recognition and her frown turned suddenly upward.

"Lily my dear, how are you? How is James?" She stood up quickly, wiping her hands carelessly across a floral kitchen apron she was wearing.

She was an old woman with tender hands and eyes. Her face was as wrinkled as a carelessly folded road map, but instead of giving her a stern look it made her seem all the more soft and warm. Her usually tidy hair was slipping out of its bun and spilling wildly over her shoulders. Harry always had a strong fascination with her old-fashioned clothes, and today was no exception. They seemed incredibly out of place in this day and age.

"We're fine, thanks. What are-"

"Oh, and little Harry's with you. On your morning walk then Harry?" She turned her attention over to Harry, cutting across his mother's question.

"Yes, and I'm not little anymore. I'm starting school," said Harry. He gave Mrs. Bagshot an almost defiant look.

"Well of course you are. Your birthday was yesterday wasn't it? I remember when your first birthday came around. We all sat down to tea, and you were the perfect gentlemen, even at that age. I first got my letter to Hogwarts many years ago, and things were quite different back then; much different than they are now. As a matter of fact, I was just talking to Mr. Robkins down the road about when muggles first invented the television. Well, I had forgotten completely that Mr. Robkins was in fact a muggle himself. Now, these things usually don't-"

"Mrs. Bagshot," Lily said, raising her voice so that it broke the old woman's musing.

"Wha-? Oh, yes Lily. I had forgotten that you were there my dear. What were you saying?"

"Mrs. Bagshot, what were you doing bent over the street like that?"

"Oh that," began the old woman, fussing with the hem of her skirt. "That was nothing my dear. Absolutely nothing and you need not worry yourself over it."

"Are you sure? I could help." Lily replied, reaching into her cloak to pull out her long willow wand.

Bathilda eyed the wand before beginning.

"You see, it's rather embarrassing really. I was on my way to get the morning paper; I have a muggle one delivered to my doorstep every morning and I love to collect those pictures. You know, they have pictures that don't move? I mean, the people don't even blink. I've tried everything. I thought once I could frighten them by sneaking up on them and jumping out with a scream, but nothing."

Harry's brain snapped into action, providing him with an image of Mrs. Bagshot, hiding behind her paisley armchair and then jumping out with a scream at a stack of muggle newspapers. He quickly turned his head away to hide his laughter and noticed that his mother had taken a sudden and keen interest to a falling leaf over her shoulder.

"Well, as I was saying, I was on my way to grab the paper when my grandmother's locket slipped off my neck and fell… I- I've been out here for al-almost an hour trying to find it." Mrs. Bagshot's eyes had suddenly gone misty. Harry looked away, feeling a pang of guilt from laughing at her earlier.

Bathilda's hands trembled slightly beside her; her bottom lip quivering in anxiety.

"It's the only th-thing I have left of her, and i-it's very important to me." The old crone's voice was starting to climb in pitch, and then it broke near to the end.

"Alright, alright. Don't worry Mrs. Bagshot; I'll get it for you," Lily said. She was doing her best to comfort the other woman.

Harry smiled widely at his mother, filled with pride at having such a smart and sweet person for a mum. Lily gave her wand a sharp flick and about two feet behind his mother he heard something very heavy fall on to the street. Harry turned his head and saw a chunk of ice amidst the flowing stream. Lily went over to pick it up, and Harry could see, in the middle of the chunk of ice, was a small silver locket.

"I always said you were excellent at charm work Lily. Th-thank you so much." Mrs. Bagshot took the chunk of ice before Lily had a chance to thaw it, and ran back inside her house.

"That was so cool, mum. How did you do it?"

"Simple charmwork." his mother replied, sliding her wand easily back into her robe. "You'll learn how at Hogwarts."

"Hey mum, if Mrs. Bagshot went to Hogwarts then why couldn't she just do that thing you did?"

"Well, some people are better at different things. Misses Bagshot has a keen mind for history. She even wrote a book about it. I'm especially good at charms, so that little trick was quite simple to do. Your father on the other hand is pretty decent with jinxes."

"And flying," Harry said with a smile.

"Yes," Lily said in a distracted sort of way. "And flying."

A few moments passed by in a comfortable silence between them. The sound of the water in the gutter and the birds singing in the trees were the only things that could be heard on this early morning walk. Harry's rubber boots made a satisfying squish whenever he stuck them directly into a puddle. Eventually the young eleven year old broke the steady quiet.

"What do you think I'll be good at?" He asked.

Lily smiled softly at her son, "Whatever you want to be good at, I suppose."

"What if I'm no good at the things you and dad are?"

"Harry," Lily began, taking the boy's hand and looking him in the eyes. "You will be great at anything you want to be. If those things are different from what your father and I were good at, then that means you're your own person. That's a good thing. Don't ever try to be someone you're not just because you think it will make others happy. Be who you are, because in the long run you're the only one who really knows you."

Harry smiled brightly. He didn't have to be good at Quidditch or charms. He didn't need to pull pranks on people or make good jokes. He only wanted to do one thing, and that was to make his mother and father proud. Now he knew that as long as he was happy, then they'd be happy.

When Harry and his mother returned home it was almost time to leave for Diagon Alley. The young raven haired boy ran upstairs to grab his supply list and then back down to wait in the sitting room for his uncle.

"How are we going to get there?"

"By car," Lily said shortly, looking up at the clock and then down to the fireplace. "He's late again. He's always late. Anytime we need to go somewhere he's late."

Just then a sudden burst of green flames erupted in the fireplace, and out stepped a tall wizard. He was a thin man, but broad in the shoulders, dressed in a black cloak with gold fastenings. He had to duck to avoid the mantel piece. His hair was neat and tidy as usual, pulled back into a thick tail.

"HARRY POTTER!" The man raised his arms, holding them out to the boy with a broad smile on his face. Harry jumped instantly up from the couch, and leapt into his godfather's arms.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" The boy bellowed back. He was completely swallowed up into a bear hug.

"You get taller and taller every time I see you, and your hair gets messier and messier," Sirius said. He quickly lifted a hand and placed it on top of the boy's head with a few quick pats.

"Or Sirius," interrupted Lily from her spot on the couch. "You just keep getting shorter and neater."

"Hullo Lily," Sirius began, standing up from his spot on the floor and walking up to give her a hug. "Sometimes I forget that I still have to deal with you every time I come over."

"That's funny," Lily began in a false snide tone, "I don't forget that I have to deal with you. You manage to make a lasting impression."

Just then another spout of green flames shot up in the fireplace, and out came two more people. One was a short blond girl with a freckly face and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. She was holding the hand of an older woman with strawberry blond hair, ice blue eyes, and a petite frame.

"Samantha's figured out how to use floo powder, so I let her take her mum through it this time," Sirius looked over his shoulder happily, "How you feeling sweetheart?"

The strawberry blond looked at her husband with obvious aversion. Her knees were wobbly, and it seemed as though she might fall over. Samantha, the little girl, was still holding on to her mother's hand, and Harry supposed this was the reason that his godmother was standing at all. She quickly let go of her daughter's had and took a hasty seat next to Lily.

"Hello Cathy dear," Lily said, giving the woman next to her a light kiss on the cheek.

"Honestly Lily, how do you magical folk travel like this? It's terrifyingly sickening."

"We could have apparated here." Sirius said with a smirk.

His wife visibly greened.

"Hi Harry," Samantha Black said, walking over to her cousin.

"Hi Sammy."

"You'll never guess what I found out today. Did you know that we're not actually related? Not by blood anyway. I still think you're my cousin and all, but by blood we're not really related."

Harry half nodded to the girl, and gave her a wide smile. He knew that, but it didn't seem like such a big deal to him. He wasn't sure what blood really had to do with family. Harry supposed that if you knew someone really well then that meant you were family. Just because Sirius wasn't his dad's brother did not make him any less of his uncle.

The Blacks had arrived close to an hour ago, and yet they had still not moved to leave. There were three cups of tea sitting on their coffee table, and the adults seemed to be caught up in a story about when Sirius and Cathy had first met. Harry was entertaining Samantha with a new game that he had learned.

"You know," Cathy began, "When I first found out, I kind of already knew. Not that he was a wizard, oh no, but that he was special. He always had a way of making things happen. I remember on our anniversary, right after Harry was born; I was so upset because a chill had come through the night before and killed all of my roses. Remember Sirius, when I was still living by myself in that tiny apartment?"

"Of course I do, remember what I said?"

Cathy giggled, her cheeks turning a delicate pink. "You said that you'd go and talk to them."

"Well, I went out and told them to spiro. They swung right back into full bloom for her." Lily laughed, smiling at the two of them.

"Alright," Lily said. She stood up and stretched comfortably. "We have to head out if we want to get there before it gets busy."

"We're not going by floo powder again, are we?" Catherine asked with a little trepidation.

Lily laughed, "No, we'll drive. I have my mother's old car, and it still runs."

She heard Cathy let out a quiet sigh of relief beside her, and soon she was standing as well. She put her half finished cup of tea down and looked around for Harry and Samantha. They were quickly rounded up, and together the five of them headed out the front door.

They loaded up the car with Cathy and Lily in the front seat and started the drive. Sirius was sitting in the backseat next to his daughter, who was quite content riding in the middle. The window beside him was rolled down, and he was leaning heavily against the door. His tongue was lolling out the corner of his mouth.

Cathy leaned over the center console to Lily. "He gets car sick. He's perfectly comfortable being sucked through nothing and then reappearing somewhere else instantly, but god forbid you put him in a car."

"Can we just apparate next time. These muggle contraptions always make me sick."

"We could have taken the subway, you know," Cathy said, turning around to smile at her husband from the front seat. Sirius visibly greened.

The rest of the car ride passed in song. They sang everything from Marry had a Hippogriff to Ninety-nine bottles of polyjuice potion. At the end of the last song Cathy looked over to Lily; her face turned up in curiosity.

"Lily, what exactly is a polyjuice potion?" Sammy, in the backseat, had heard her mother's question and perked her ears up.

"Well, polyjuice potion is a potion that can turn the drinker into whoever they want – physically, that is."

"Audrey Hepburn," Catherine murmured to herself. "Or maybe Eileen Atkins from her early years."

Lily quietly scoffed, and Cathy popped her quickly on the back of the head.

"Hey," she responded indignantly, "I'm driving."

They had finally arrived in front of the Leaky Cauldron. The air outside was warm, and Sirius had to remove his thick black cloak once he left the car. Under the cloak he had a pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt. Lily giggled, looking at Sirius in his muggle clothes.

"I've never seen you wear any," she said, closing the gap between her and Harry. She stooped down and took his hand in hers.

Together they crossed the street and slid into the dingy pub. It was crowded and noisy as usual, but amidst it all Tom, the barman, still waved them over.

"Well, if it isn't the Potters and the Blacks. Mind you, your cousin's here, Sirius."

"Oh goodie," Sirius replied, smiling widely at Tom. "Which one is it, East or West?"

"I'm afraid it's the Wicked Witch of the West this time." Tom chortled, moving away from the two families and hurrying over to help a costumer at the other end of the bar.

"Well, if we hurry through I'm sure we can-"

"SIRIUS! There you are. I had heard you were here."

Harry's Uncle cringed beside him, but added a bright smile to his face as he turned around. There, at the bottom of the stairs was a thin, lanky witch with heavy lidded eyes. She was quite beautiful standing there in a silken black floor-length dress.

"Bellatrix. We were just about to go looking for you. How have you been, my dear?"

"I've been fine, but I see you have not managed to come to your senses yet." Bellatrix LeStrange stood tall and proud, casting her cold eyes down at Catherine.

"Careful Bella or I'll cut out your tongue." Sirius had moved to stand in front of his wife, protectively guarding her from Bellatrix's cold eyes.

"You know what they say Sirius. Blood's thicker than love." She turned on her heals, causing her frilly black dress to billow out around her, and stormed off.

"Well," said Lily, a wide smile plastered to her face. "That went much better than I expected."

They left the Leaky Cauldron through the back alleyway and entered Diagon Alley. Harry loved it here. There were a hundred different shops with a hundred different things to buy, and all of them were exciting. There was the Quidditch shop, the Owl Emporium, Flourish and Blotts, and Olivander's; which is where he'd get his first wand.

"Alright Harry, first things first," his mother began. "Off to get your robes." Harry groaned loudly. It was to be expected that the first place he would have to visit would be the most boring.

"Ah, well, while Harry tries on his robes, I'm just going to duck on over to- er- somewhere and do a bit of shopping." Sirius rubbed the back of his head with an uneasy smile across his face. Lily sighed, knowing exactly what he was going to do, and so did Harry.

"Uncle Sirius," Harry began with a smirk, "You're horrid at making up stories, and I've always wanted my own broom."

Sirius laughed, tousling the young boy's hair. He turned, grabbing Samantha's hand, and took off down Diagon Alley while Lily, Cathy and Harry entered Madame Malkin's.

As they entered the shop the sound of the small bell above the door greeted them, and Lily could instantly tell that a chill air charm had been placed over the store. It was quiet inside, and the smell of new robes and fabrics drifted up to them at once. Cathy smiled at the aroma.

"Well hello there Lily, how are you doing?" Madame Malkin had just appeared from the back room and was smiling warmly at her three guests. "I was just tailoring up Mr. Malfoy in the back when I heard the bell. And you must be Catherine Black." She held out her hand in greeting.

"Yep, that's me- the muggle girl that married a Black." She smiled, taking the woman's hand and giving it a gentle shake.

"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes dearie. Sirius is a catch, but have you met the rest of them? Strange folk. And of course Harry's starting school this year. Should I sew him into Gryffindor?" Madame Malkin asked, giving a small chuckle.

"I'm sure his father would say yes, but really, I thought for sure I'd be sorted into Slytherin." Harry saw his mother smile a little as she said this. It was a simple thing, but it didn't reach her eyes all the way.

"Well," said Madame Malkin, "Just plain black robes then. This way, Harry. I've got Mister Malfoy in the back. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

Harry left his mother's side and followed Madame Malkin into the back. It was a room full of half-circled mirror cubicles. Harry had just passed the heavy curtain when he was suddenly assaulted by a flash of platinum blond.

"Harry! I'm so happy you're here. I'm really sorry I missed your birthday, but Aunt Bella has been staying with us this entire month, and she refused to go. She thought that Sirius was going to be there. I got you this." Draco held out his hand giving Harry a round leather wrapped package.

"Thanks Draco," Harry said, opening the leather cloth. In his hand was a small glass spinning top. It was blue with a dome-shape. Harry smiled at Draco, "What is it?"

"It's a Sneakoscope. When someone is sneaking around, or trying to do you harm it'll go off with a whistle," Draco said enthusiastically.

"What do I need this for," Harry asked with a wide grin. "I've got you. I think that's enough, but thanks."

The two boys laughed together, and Madame Malkin had to clear her throat. She was standing there with a wand in one hand and a tiny silver needle and string in the other.

"Come on boys," she said, "You're both on a time schedule. Let's get started before you talk the entire day away."

Harry gave Draco a hug, pocketing his new gift and standing up on one of the many stepping stools. The room was a little chilly, and Harry shivered minutely when the cold fabric of his soon to be school robes was pressed against him. A small needle was stitching a hem at the bottom of the fabric on its own while a pair of scissors snipped furiously away at random here and there.

Harry glanced over to catch Draco's eyes, but he didn't find them. Draco's gaze was turned down to his left. A somber look was plastered across the blonde's face. Right above his heart a small silver and green crest was being stitched onto his robes. His steel grey eyes didn't seem happy about this at all, and Harry had to say something.

"How do you know you're already going to be in Slytherin?"

Draco blushed slightly, and turned to face Harry with a half grin half grimace.

"Well, I don't. My father says that's where I'll be sorted because that's where most of my family was sorted, and that's where Tom Riddle came from. My dad says he wants me to be the next great Minister of Magic just like Tom Riddle. I don't know if I want to though." Draco looked down at the silver badge on his chest with a look of unease.

"Well, where do you want to be sorted then?" Harry asked. He was doing his best to imitate one of those smiles his mum gave him when he was confused. It always made him feel better.

"I want to be in Gryffindor like Sirius. He's really cool," Draco exclaimed, and both boys fell into a fit of laughter. Once they had caught their breath and recovered Harry spoke again.

"You should get plain black robes then. I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind if you wanted to be in Gryffindor. Besides, it would look really silly wearing Slytherin robes at a different house table."

Draco agreed on that, and Madame Malkin was exasperated when he told her that he wanted plain black robes instead. Harry laughed loudly as Madame Malkin crumbled into a chair, throwing a hand over her forehead. Her eyes narrowed at Harry before she too smiled. She gave her wand a careful little flick, and Harry watched as a gleaming needle began to weave in and out of the cuff of his right sleeve.

Harry looked up into the mirror in front of him. His robes were being perfectly tailored, and that meant he would have to get new ones every year. He liked that idea. He would be able to give Samantha all of his old robes. She wouldn't ever have to come into this boring shop.

Harry's eyes skimmed the surface of the mirror and his eyes connected to the short blond next to him. His eyes widened, and he let out a tiny gasp of shock.

"What is it dear? Did I get you with a needle?" Madame Malkin asked. Everything that had been floating around Harry had suddenly gone still.

"No, no," Harry said distractedly. "Sorry, I just thought I saw something in…" He trailed off, shaking his head as if to clear it of some silly notion.

"Alright," she said, and gave her wand a tiny wave to get the robe making going again. "Well make sure you tell me if I do prick you. I don't need you bleeding all over this new fabric." She smiled at Harry who gave her a half-hearted one in return. He was still turning over what he had seen in the mirror in front of him.

It had been an odd sight, though there hadn't really been much difference with the reflection in the mirror, except that there had. Harry couldn't put his finger on it. It was right there in the forefront of his mind, but he couldn't bring it any closer. He looked over at Draco and then back in the mirror.

Draco cocked an eyebrow at his friends worried glances, "What is it, Harry?"

"It's nothing," he said, "There was something weird about you, I thought."

"Weird about me?" Draco asked incredulously. "Well, if I'm so weird maybe you can just go shopping by yourself today."

Harry laughed loudly, "Yeah right, you'd cuff yourself to me before I ever got two steps away."

Draco grinned widely at Harry, and suddenly he realized what it had been with the mirror. It had been Draco's expression. Here, beside Harry, he was smiling, looking joyfully at the now blank left chest patch of his robes. In the mirror, just for a second, Harry had seen someone else. It had been Draco, but different. He had been sneering. His eyes had been pointed to the top of his head as if this was one of the most boring things he had ever done, but the thing that had bothered Harry the most had been his mouth. It was no longer smiling, but turned down into such a gruesome frown it looked as if he had been snarling.

Harry pushed these images out of his head, and avoided looking directly in the mirror for the rest of the tailoring process.

~~~*To Be Continued*~~~


	3. Part Two-Chapter Two: A Kiss

The two boys finished having their robes tailored, and left for the front of the shop again. When they pulled back the curtains Harry saw that Narcissa and Bellatrix had joined his mother and Cathy. Narcissa and Cathy were both looking very uncomfortable, but Lily Potter was standing her ground staring the heavily lidded Bellatrix LeStrange in the eye.

"Harry, good. Let's go." Lily looked at her son, taking his hand, and guiding him to the door.

"Mum, I was wondering if Draco could come with us. He could stay in my room. I don't mind sharing."

Lily stopped, looking over at Draco with a soft expression. She saw Bellatrix digging her scrawny fingers into the boy's shoulder as if she would rather die than depart from her nephew.

"Of course he can. It's up to his mother though."

Bellatrix turned a twisted glare on her sister, but her son was quicker, and catching his pleading eyes first, she nodded. Malfoy ran up and grabbed his mother around the waist, giving her a good hug before joining Harry. Bellatrix had a look of mad shock on her face, and for a split second it looked as if she was going to explode.

"Don't worry about a thing," Lily said to Narcissa, "We'll take care of the rest of his school supplies."

And then, with a sudden rush, Bellatrix did explode.

"YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS CISSA! LETTING DRACO GO HOME WITH THAT FILTHY MUGGLE AND HER MUD-"

Lily Potter slammed the door to the robe shop with a wide smile. She gave an easy laugh and almost had a skip down the street, grabbing onto Harry's right hand and Draco's left. Cathy on the other hand looked slightly put off, and with trembling fingers she reached inside her purse and took out a pack of smokes. She stuck one between her lips, lit the tip, and took a deep drag off of the filtered end.

"You know, I've never understood the idea of cigarettes." Lily said to Cathy with a slender smile. "What's the point in pulling in all that smoke?"

"Of course you don't understand," replied Cathy with her own smile finally showing through, "They're for filthy muggles when they become stressed. I doubt that ever happens to your lot." They both laughed heartily, continuing down the alley.

Cathy took another puff of her cigarette as Lily scanned Harry's school list. She looked from Harry to Draco and then back again.

"Draco," she said, rolling Harry's school list back up. "You haven't gotten anything else besides those robes, have you?" Draco shook his head. The smiles they were both wearing were enough to blind anyone, and Lily couldn't help but feel their contagious effect. "Good. Then I know exactly what to get you both."

The four of them rounded a corner and almost ran into a young couple and their daughter who were being lead through Diagon Alley by a slim and gangly man with short black hair and eyes. The young couple and their daughter were dressed in typical muggle-wear, but the man leading them was wearing a beautiful emerald green cloak. They dodged each other quite efficiently.

"Sev," Lily whispered as the leader of the small group swept past her, not realizing who she was. He stopped abruptly, causing the young couple and their daughter to almost run into his back.

"Lily," Severus replied with a surprised smile on his face. His eyes drifted slowly down to Harry.

"Ah, Mister Potter. Always thrilling to see you."Snape said with a bored drawl. "Getting a taste of glory are we? Being eleven, about to start your best years then?" The ebony haired man gave the boy a cold sneer before breaking out in a smile. "I hope that you've been practicing that pepper-up potion recipe I sent to you. I expect you to be as great as your mother was with potions, if not better."

"As long as you're going to teach me I should be great," Harry replied.

"And Mister Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise. How's your shopping going? Gotten your wand yet?"

"Not yet," Draco began, "But it's still a lot of fun. We were going into the apothecary next."

Severus Snape nodded his head at the boy. One quick sharp nod of acknowledgement, but that was how he had always treated both boys. Once the conversation was finished, it was finished. His small black eyes found their way back to Lily's face.

"Thanks again for coming over the other day," he said evenly. "Maybe next time you'll beat me."

"Next time," Lily began, "I'll bury you, Severus. You can't always be so lucky, and I certainly know you're not that intelligent."

"You wound me," Severus replied with a slanted smile. "It's just a game Evans."

"Maybe."

He gave her the same quick nod he gave to the boys, and then he turned his head to Catherine to quickly acknowledge her. Then, he was turning to leave.

"Come along then," he spoke to the three he was guiding. All of them jumped at having been addressed once more. Snape passed a short man with a tweed jacket, a thin woman with bushy brown hair, and their daughter who took after her mother in more than one way.

As they passed the small group, the woman looked at Cathy and said, "You know that smoking causes plaque build-up on your teeth, and it could damage them with permanent discoloration. You should stop by my husband and I's office." She gave Cathy a clear white card with an address and a soft outline of a tooth.

"Thanks for putting me off of a perfectly good cigarette," Cathy replied too quietly to actually be heard. She tossed the cigarette to the ground, and put her heal into little embers.

The four of them turned the next corner, and the last thing Harry saw of the three people they had just passed was the little girl's bushy brown hair, just like her mother's.

They continued on their way, stopping again at the apothecary, then at Flourish and Blotts, and finally they reached Olivander's. They entered the tiny shop with Harry and Draco having similar expressions of awe on their faces.

"Good morning Cathy, Lily, Harry, and Draco," called out a disembodied voice from somewhere in the back of the shop.

"Good afternoon Mr. Olivander," Lily greeted back.

"My my my, is it afternoon already? How time flies." A small old gentleman with white hair and a pair of glasses appeared at the front of the shop. He gave a quirky half smile at the four of them in greeting, but said nothing else. He turned at once and began climbing a ladder to a few shelves above. He reached his hands up and extracted a small thin cardboard box. It was too thin to be a shoebox and too long as well, but the idea was basically the same. He threw that to the counter below him, and the sound echoed with a loud clap that startled Harry.

Mr. Olivander continued doing this ten more times before he moved to stand in front of them again. His hands were outstretched with the palms facing up, and it was as if he were asking who wanted to go first. His gaze drifted dreamily between the two boys in front of him, and when neither responded he pointed directly to Draco.

"Alright then Mr. Malfoy," he said, "Let's begin with you."

Box after box and wand after wand he handed to Draco before snatching them back with a "No, not that," or an "I think not." At one point he had just taken a wand out of the box, gave one sharp look at Draco, and then stuffed it quickly back inside with nothing more than sharp shake of his head.

"Here we are. Ten inches, Hawthorne wood, unicorn hair and reasonably springy. Perfect for you, my lad, if I do say so myself. Which I do." Olivander said with a chuckle. He handed the wand over to Draco with a small flourish. Draco stood there perplexed, and held the wand in his hand. A small smile started to stretch across the blond boy's face and soon he was nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Well, give it a wave, my boy," Olivander said in an admonishing tone.

Draco did as he was told, and with the first flick of the wand, a silvery wisp of mist shot out from the tip. It shot around the room, coming into contact with a vase of petunias. The flowers suddenly fell apart into a pool of diamonds. Mister Olivander carefully swept them off of the small table and into the palm of his hand, placing them back into the small vase where they sprouted as flowers again.

"Good very good. That's seven galleons." Draco handed his money over to Olivander with a smile.

"Now you Harry. Let's see… Willow like your mother, or maybe oak. No, no, I think holly for you Mr. Potter." With that being said Olivander had climbed back up his ladder and began throwing more boxes down to the desk.

It took a grand total of twelve wands before Mr. Olivander stopped at one. His old and wizened hands lingered over the lid, and his fingertips traced small swirling patterns into the dust that was collected there. He finally lifted the lid with a gesture that was perhaps a bit too grand for the occasion. Out of the box he pulled Harry Potter's wand. Harry knew it was his before it was even handed to him. It sang to him in a quiet way. The way a lover whispers gently into your ear. It was willow, twelve inches, and had a fairy wing core.

"Very swishy, yes, like your mother's wand," he said in a dreamlike state, "Though, much better for charm work than hers is."

He turned the wand around, and placed the hilt directly into Harry's upturned hand. The boy never realized that he had been waiting for it to be given to him, but the moment it rested in his palm it just felt right. There was a strange warmth that wrapped him up, and soon he was smiling as goofily as Draco had been.

Mr. Olivander said, "Go ahead, Harry. Let's see."

The older gentleman seemed on edge. It was as if he was holding his breath. This entire moment seemed to matter more to him than it did to Harry, and that was saying quite a bit. Harry didn't know why, but he was suddenly anxious to get away from this wrinkled shopkeeper. He needed to quickly escape from the stuffy lobby of this dusty and old business. He lifted the wand quite suddenly, and brought it down with a quick vertical slash.

Every cobweb, and every single bit of dust seemed to suddenly vanish on a fresh spring breeze. A cool and crisp wind entered the cramped establishment, and it perfumed the air with a sweet and refreshing smell. No trace of neglect could be seen in the shop any longer, and every box on the shelf gleamed as if it had been dusted and polished.

"I think, Mr. Potter, that we can expect great things from you," the old man said with a kind smile.

They had made it back to the Leaky Cauldron just as Diagon Alley began to close. The day had faded to dusk, and all around them they could hear the whispers and mumbles of protective spells and wards being thrown over the different shops that lined the street. They reached the stone archway, and moved under it into the pub.

Cathy was searching the dining hall, looking apprehensively at the different people that littered the area. She scanned the bar quickly, and took a deep breath before trying to get the attention of the barman. She waved excitedly over to him, and was trying her best not to distract him from his other customers, which there had been a great influx of since Diagon Alley was closing up, but she was too excited to really wait.

Tom walked quickly over from his spot and leaned across the counter toward Catherine. The noise was high in the bar, and even though they were very close together she still had to shout to make herself heard.

"I'm sorry," she began, "I don't know if you remember me or not, but I'm looking for my husband."

"Course I remember you Mrs. Black. I don't think your husband Sirius has made it back yet. Would you like me to open a private parlor for you four to enjoy while you wait?"

"That'd be lovely, thanks."

They were quickly led off of the main room and down a hallway. They hadn't gone very far before Tom stopped and opened a door to his right. It was a very cozy sitting room with a fire crackling merrily away at the end. Two wide mint-green sofas and a loveseat were place along the walls, and in the center of the room was a large coffee table.

Lily walked quickly over and set her bags down. She groaned a sigh of relief, and began rubbing her own shoulders. It had been a long and eventful day for them, and the hustle and bustle had done its job of putting a strain on Lily's shoulders.

"What a day," she said. She found the nearest empty spot, and quite suddenly slumped down into it. "I think I'm getting old, Cathy."

The other woman didn't respond. She seemed to be distracted with her anxious pacing.

"Cathy," Lily said sternly, "Sit down before you stress me out. He'll be back soon. Sirius is always late."

Cathy stopped short, and turned her weary eyes on Lily, "He can take care of himself. I just wished he hadn't taken Samantha if he was going to be gone for so long. I'm sorry, I just worry."

"Welcome to motherhood," said Lily.

Twenty minutes ticked by slowly on the clock above the mantle. The dull roar outside the room had quieted, and Lily could feel the excitement running down. Draco had laid himself out on the couch beside her, flicking his new wand idly around in his fingers. Bright sparks of yellow, green, and blue were dancing from its tip.

"Harry, Draco, are you two hungry?" Lily asked.

"Mum, I'm starving." Whined Harry loudly. He began patting his stomach for emphasis.

Draco sat up, laying his hands on his lap, "If you wouldn't mind terribly Mrs. Potter, I am a little hungry."

"Try not to be so polite Draco. It just doesn't suit you." Lily stood laughing, giving Draco's blond hair a light ruffle before leaving the room.

The parlor door swung quickly closed behind her. The general hubbub and bustle of the bar's atmosphere had really dissipated since they had arrived. Lily found it a little strange, especially since Diagon Alley had only closed thirty minutes before. She walked quickly over to the bar and waved at Tom.

The barman was leaning against the counter with his head in the palm of his hand. He looked tired as he shuffled slowly over to her. His feet seemed heavy and the general atmosphere seemed sluggish. Tom came to stop directly in front of her with a dead pan face.

"What can I get you?" Tom asked.

Lily took a deep breath in. Her mood was starting to slowly drain away. The upbeat mood she had been in earlier was flitting out of her. She rested her elbows on the counter in front of her. She felt a little defeated, and she thought that it was completely unfair that everyone else's mood was ruining her own.

"I need to order some food, Tom. We are all a bit hungry from today," Lily complained.

Tom nodded, but made no attempt to move. The air in the bar was growing colder around her, and the red haired woman threw her arms protectively around herself. Goosebumps rose up on her arms. The quiet suddenly seemed unnatural to her. She turned to look at the street outside, but the window was frosted over.

"Hadn't it been a hot day today?" Lily asked. She was speaking more to herself than anyone else, but Tom followed her gaze over to the windows.

"Oh no," he whispered. It was soft and pathetic sounding.

Lily knew what was coming quite suddenly, but by the time she figured it out it was already there.

Cathy had dozed off five minutes after they sat down, so really, the two boys were left to their own devices. Harry started to tell Draco how to make a perfect forgetfulness potion when a blood curdling scream rang out from the dining hall. The noise sent goose bumps up and down Harry's arm, and Cathy jolted awake instantly.

There was a lot of noise coming from outside the room. Screaming could be heard drifting back to them, but one scream stood out above the rest, and it was the scream that had started this all.

"DEMENTORS! DEMENTORS IN DIAGON ALLEY!"

Harry felt it then. The room was slowly starting to drop in temperature even though the fire was still blazing. The double glass doors at the front were thrown open, emitting Harry's mother back into the room. She grabbed the bags off of the table and handed them to Harry.

"Inside the fire now."

Harry didn't question the order as Lily threw a handful of powder into the flames. Harry stepped in shouting his address and the next second he was there. He dropped all of the bags in the living room, watching them scatter every which-way. Draco came next with a horrified look on his face.

"They were right there. They were right in the room when I left. There were so many. There were at least a hundred."

"What about my mum, Draco?"

"She's-"

Draco didn't need to finish his sentence, because at that moment two women stepped out into his fireplace- his mother and Cathy. Lily sat Catherine down on the couch, running off into the kitchen, and returning with three large bars of chocolate. Harry and Draco took theirs gratefully, but Cathy eyed hers indignantly.

"It will make you feel better," Lily reassured her.

Cathy took the bar with no question after that, and bit into the first corner that she could find. Finally, after swallowing the first small bite, and the three mouthfuls that followed, she began to ask her questions.

"What were they Lily? I didn't even see them. I didn't see anything. All the light had been sucked out of the room, and I- I- Where's Sirius? Where's Sammy?"

Lily sat herself down beside her friend, throwing her arms around the woman.

"Hush now. Sirius will be back in a few with Samantha, safe and sound. He knows the address here. He'll be fine. He's probably just hiding out in one of the shops."

Harry Potter looked over at the living room clock, watching as the second hand slowly ticked by. Three hours had passed since they had arrived back home and still there was no word from Sirius. His mother had brewed a calming draught for Cathy, but perhaps made it a little too strong on purpose. After the first few sips of the potion, the young woman fell asleep almost instantly. Lily levitated her to the downstairs guest bedroom.

It was one in the morning before Lily even considered moving Harry off to bed. Draco had already long since retired, after getting a firecall from his mother and father.

"Harry dear, it's time to head off to bed." Lily said, helping Harry to his tired feet. "I'll watch out here for your Uncle. I'll wake you if he gets back."

Harry nodded, taking a small sip of the calming draught and heading upstairs. He reached his bedroom and opened the door, finding an already asleep Draco in his bed. Harry climbed up into the bed next to him, closing his eyes tightly against the darkness of his bedroom.

Harry woke later that night by the sounds of sobbing, and at first the raven haired boy thought he was having a nightmare, but through the sobbing he heard someone speaking.

"What's wrong Lily? What's wrong with him?" Catherine asked in a state of panic.

Harry then heard his mother's voice drift up the stairs to him. It was hollow and dull. It sounded as if all the life had been sucked out of her voice. Nothing remained of the cheery Lily Potter. She sounded defeated.

"He's been kissed Cathy. There's nothing we can do. I need to tell James."


	4. Chapter Three: The Family

**Chapter Three: The Family**

Hearing the noise from downstairs Harry leapt out of his bed, and tried his best not to wake Draco. His heart was hammering in his chest, and it felt as if his head had been doused in a bucket of ice water. He ran pass the hall and into the sitting room.

Lily knelt over a body, obscuring most of it from Harry's view. At his entrance, the red headed woman looked up from her spot. Her eyes were not the bright emerald green that Harry had always known, but were now empty and colorless. She stood, and moved away from the body and toward Harry.

There, on the floor of the living room, was Peter Pettigrew. The kind blue eyes that Harry had grown up with were dead. No, Harry thought, not dead, just not here. His face was stuck in a spasm of fright, and Harry could see the corners of his mouth working frantically. The man suddenly smiled up at Harry, causing the boy to jump back in surprise.

His mother caught him in her arms.

"Shh, Harry, it's not him. It's not Peter. Peter's somewhere else."

Cathy had thrown herself into a plush armchair, and started to cry. She shook her head back and forth not understanding. She looked down at Peter through watery eyes, watching him mouth random words up to the ceiling. She had caught the words mother and jelly before she had to turn away.

"Why did he come here?" Catherine asked. "I don't understand how he came to be this way."

"He must have been trying to escape Diagon Alley. Our house must have been the first place to pop into his mind. He must have been kissed right after he-" But the words didn't come to her. She thought it highly unlikely that Peter spoke the address of her home, and then right before being whisked away, a dementor's kiss met him.

"That," she said, "Or somebody sent him through."

Cathy's eyes went wide. "Who would send Peter here? Why would they send him here after that happened?"

"Because I couldn't just leave him there."

Both women had been so involved in their conversations that neither of them had noticed the fire spinning back to a violent shade of green. Sirius and Samantha Black stood hand in hand on the sitting room mantle. Cathy jumped up from her spot with tears running down her face in full force.

"SAMANTHA! SIRIUS! You're alright!" She ran to her daughter, dropping to her knees and throwing her arms around her.

"Mum, really, it wasn't that bad. You should have seen dad. He threw twenty of the ghosts out of the shop we were in. He held up his wand and BAM! This giant wolf came running out of his wand and chased all the ghosts away."

"Really Sammy," Sirius began, exasperated. "They are not ghosts; they are dementors, and my patronus is not a wolf; it's a dog."

Draco had woken up from the noise downstairs. He entered the room rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked to Sirius with a large smile, but his smile fell as he caught sight of Peter. His eyebrows drew close together in confusion. He took a step back, but Lily brought him forward.

"Draco dear," the red headed woman began, hugging the boy to her side, "I'm going to send you home. You shouldn't be here right now."

Draco nodded against her side, and let himself be led toward the fireplace. Lily ducked down to stick her head into the flames, and spoke Draco's address clearly. Draco instantly heard his mother's voice drift through the fireplace.

"Is Draco alright?" She asked.

"He's fine Narcissa," replied Lily. "We've run into a bit of trouble, though. One of our friends didn't make it out of Diagon Alley unscathed. Would you mind if we sent Draco home early?"

"Of course," Harry heard Draco's mother exclaim, "Is there anything we can do? Should we call St. Mungo's for you?"

Lily shook her head, "We'll take care of it. Thank you though."

Lily backed out of the fireplace, and Harry watched as Draco stepped forward and then disappeared. After the boy was gone, Lily made her way back over to the flames. The raven haired boy could hear his Aunt Cathy talking to Sirius.

"Oh Sirius," Cathy cried, throwing herself at her husband. She grabbed him suddenly by the shoulders, pushing him off of her. "If you ever want to see another day, NEVER do that again!"

Lily was bent over with her head in the fire. The green flames were rushing around her shoulders.

"James, it's Peter." There was a short pause. "Peter Pettigrew, he's been kissed." There was a longer pause, and Lily groaned in frustration. "No James, not 'good for him'; it was a dementor."

Harry felt his stomach turn over as he came to stand beside his uncle. Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder, and steered him over to the armchair his wife had just vacated. Harry sat, and finally felt his legs giving out.

Lily had brought her head back into the room.

"He's on his way," she said in a dejected tone.

The next second he was there. Tall, thin and black haired -James Potter looked around the small sitting room. His large brown eyes finally connected with Peter.

"Oh Peter…" James looked around to Sirius. "What happened?"

"We were shopping in Knockturn Alley," said Sirius. Lily grimaced, but Cathy looked completely unaware, just mouthing the words Knockturn Alley to herself.

"The street suddenly ran cold, and we ran into Borgin and Burkes."

"No dad," Sammy began, and gave her father's hand a tight squeeze. "Remember, we were already in that shop talking to Mr. Pettigrew before it got cold."

"Yes," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes dangerously at his daughter. "Now I remember, thanks dear." Sarcasm dripped deeply off of his every word.

Sammy walked over to the couch, and took a seat next to her mother. They stood there for a minute looking around the room at each other.

"Well," Sirius began again, keeping a firm eye on his daughter, "I had gone in to get Harry his birthday present and-"

"FROM KNOCKTURN ALLEY?"

"Yes Lily," Sirius said in frustration, "From Knockturn Alley. May I finish?"

Lily glared from her spot beside Cathy on the couch. Sirius sighed deeply before resuming his story.

"We were in Borgin and Burke's, shopping, when we ran into Peter. He was a little worried about some of his older family heirlooms that might put him in a tight situation if the ministry came knocking. Well, I was just telling him how to haggle with Burke when the room began to grow cold." Sirius gave Samantha a hard look, as if daring her to disagree with him, but she seemed quite content with how the story was going.

"We moved into the back of the shop to get away from the windows. They were frosting over rather quickly and" Harry was trying to listen to Sirius' story, but his voice seemed to have become even fainter. His mind was going into overdrive again, and he could clearly see what was happening.

Sirius, running for the back of the store, and holding Sammy's hand tightly. Their breath escaping in puffs of white air around their faces.

_"Come on Samantha, hurry!" Sirius was urging his daughter into the back of the shop. The windowpanes at the front of the store were slowly frosting over, and the noise inside had somehow become mute; his voice sounding as if it were stuffed full of cotton._

_Peter Pettigrew stood rooted to his spot in front of the counter, staring in horror out the windows at three large hooded figures gliding along the street. His blue eyes quivered in their sockets. _

_"Peter! Come on! We have to get to the back of the shop. PETER!" That last scream seemed to do the trick, and suddenly the short, stubby man snapped back to reality. _

_He turned, tripping over the hem of his robes and came down with a loud crash to the floor. He scrambled up to his feet just as the first of the dementors glided through the door. Peter ran pass the counter and into the back of the shop._

_"Wait, Sirius! Please wait for me! Don't leave me." The short man did an awkward turn to face backwards, running on his heels._

_"Excpecto Patronum!" A thin, silvery vapor shot from the end of Peter's wand, illuminating the darkened room._

_"No Peter! You'll attract them all with that!" Sirius' voice came to him in a harsh hiss that echoed off the walls of the dark room. _

_Sirius and Samantha crashed through the door of the backroom and fell into Burke's office. The oily man looked down on them from his desk, his eyes widening in shock._

_"What is the meaning of this? Get out of my office!"_

_"Dementors!" Sirius roared back. He pushed Sammy toward the fireplace. The girl's eyes were wide, not in fear, but in curiosity. _

_"Daddy, I want to see them. What are they like? Do you think they'll let me talk to them? I want to meet one!"_

_"NO!" Sirius shouted. He moved foward to the fireplace, but Burke was quicker. He scooped a hand full of powder from a jar on the mantle and stepped into the flames._

_"Seventeen Spinner's End!" He shouted, and disappeared in a burst of green flames._

_Peter had just thrown himself into the room. He turned quickly; ready to slam the door behind him, but it was too late._

_To see someone's soul being pulled from their body is a heartbreakingly beautiful thing. It isn't a quick flash of blinding light, or an ethereal outline of their physical form. It is like a beautiful shimmering fabric caught in the branch of a tree. It's like a gentle wisp of silver vapor escaping the top of an old rusty can. A last bit of magic floating away from the core of a broken wand, except more gorgeous than real words or pictures can define. _

_To see something as beautiful as that being pulled into something as horrifying as a dementor's mouth will inspire true hatred and anger in any living human being._

_"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A giant silvery dog burst forth out of Sirius' wand, and sudden warmth filled the room. Light overflowed into every corner, and as the dog came upon the dementor, it screamed. Piercingly brilliant and unnaturally high, its voice echoed off of the corners in the dusty room. The glass front of an old grandfather clock cracked and splintered in its wooden frame._

_The dementor's hood fell back, but before either of them could see its face, it disintegrated; its body falling apart piece by piece and into ash._

Long silence filled the room. If a pin had fallen from a table and to the wooden floor, the sound would have made them jump. The only thing that could be heard throughout the room was Peter's raspy breathing, sounding as if it were just an automated response. It was the body's way of keeping it alive. None of them said anything as they watched the man's chest rise and fall.

James reached up to wipe away the tears on his cheeks with the sleeve of his robe. Lily pushed her flaming red hair out of her face, and Catherine turned in her spot, burying her nose into the arm of the sofa.

"Well," James spoke, taking the time to catch his breath, "What are we going to do? How do we get him to…?" James ended his sentence before he even finished. Everyone remained silent, and the quiet of the room imploded on them all.

"If the dementor was destroyed, then what happens to Peter's soul?" Every eye turned to Samantha Black.

"What do you mean?" Sirius said, confused.

"Well," Sammy began, hitching up her courage, "If a dementor steals someone's soul, then what happens to that soul if the dementor is destroyed? Shouldn't it 'go' somewhere else?"

"Nobody knows," said Lily. "Nobody's really thought of destroying a dementor. I mean, it must have happened somewhere before, right?"

No one in the room dared answer her question.

Time passed, and the day Harry needed to be at King's Cross Station finally dawned. The young boy was up and out of bed at nine in the morning, smiling brightly at the thought of being able to start his first year at school. He left his room, and ran down the stairs two at a time.

"I told you he was up already. I can hear him coming down the stairs now." Harry heard his mother say. He rounded the corner and entered the kitchen to see both his mother and father with a lot of other people he recognized.

"Good morning, Harry." Lily rushed from her usual spot at the kitchen counter to start fussing over her son's ragged hair.

"Lily, stop, you're going to smother the boy." Harry's eyes met that of Severus Snape's. His mouth was turned into a half smile. "Of course, perhaps a bit of asphyxiation would do the boy well? It would certainly wipe that grin off of his face."

Harry remembered the first time he had met Severus only vaguely. His mother had sat him down at a table across from him. They had talked for hours about everything that Harry liked and disliked. They had spoken of his life, and his favorite things that he liked to do with his mum and dad.

After he had left Harry's mother asked what he had thought of the man. He had responded with two words, he's awesome. From then on he was around a lot. His dad didn't seem to like it at first, but Harry knew they were friends now.

Harry widened his smile at the man, and forced him into an unwilling smile himself.

He looked around the room at the other guests. There were plenty of people there, and their once spacious kitchen was cramped and packed. There was his Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cathy, his Uncles Remus and Max, his cousins Sammy and Nero, and his niece Rachel. He laughed to himself, too overjoyed by everyone's presence to contain it.

Remus and Max were Harry's Uncles since before he was born, he guessed. They had taken in his cousin Nero off the street, and when he grew up some he returned the favor for his daughter Rachel. They expanded as a family in a very short amount of time, but they were as close as any other as far as harry could tell. He loved them all, and wished they would come over more often.

"Harry Potter." Sirius greeted with a smile on his face.

"Sirius Black." the young boy chortled.

"Morning Harry, ready to start school?"Nero asked, looking down at him through his glasses.

"Sure am."

"How's your wand look Harry?" Remus began with a bright smile at his adopted nephew. Just as Harry crossed the kitchen, he was instantly engulfed in both his Uncle Remus' and his Uncle Max's arms.

"Sorry we missed your birthday, but it was right after the-"

"Moon." Harry finished Max's sentence. The tall blond wizard looked taken aback for just a short minute, but laughed, showing the boy in front of him a beautiful smile.

"You're son is too bright for his own good, James." Remus said jokingly. "Here, this is from your Uncle Max and me. I hope you like it."

Remus Lupin handed Harry what looked like a large blue diamond. It was incredibly smooth and round. Harry held it in his hands, not knowing what to do with it.

"It's called a tear of the moon. Whoever holds or wears the gem will be completely silenced. No sound of footsteps, voice or movement of any kind."

Harry went to say thank you but found that he was incapable. The kitchen's occupants chuckled whole-heartedly as he sat the stone down on the counter. It rolled across the marble surface without making any sound at all. "Thank you very much." Harry said with a short nod, being pulled into another hug by both of his uncles.

"He's also too polite for his own good," Remus said, and raised an eyebrow at the boy's father.

"Don't look at me," James began, narrowing his eyes at his wife, "His politeness is her doing, not mine."

"Oh yes. If it had been up to you, he'd know every single swear word there is to know, wouldn't he?" His wife gave a hard look back.

"Harry." Harry looked back over to Nero. "This is from me and Rachel."

Harry took the brightly wrapped package. He looked over at his seven month old niece dubiously.

"Alright then, it's just from me, but it was her idea."

Harry laughed along with everyone else, giving the paper a nice tear down the middle. Inside was a plush and terribly soft pillow. Harry put his face in it, feeling the cool materiel against his skin. He suddenly felt the world starting to drift out of focus and his knees buckle.

"Careful Harry." He felt his face being pulled away from the pillow and he was back on his feet.

"It's a dreamless sleep pillow. I made it myself." Nero smiled at Harry, clapping him on the back.

"You took the properties of a perfectly good potion and applied it to an inanimate object?" Snape's eyes gleamed with sudden malice. "Well, that's not going to last long, is it?"

"I applied my own type of permanent sticking charm to it. So my guess is that it will." Nero glared heavily back at Snape.

"Potions should be left as potions, _boy!_ Try not to mend something that doesn't need it. People who mess with things they don't fully understand get hurt. Even a Ministry spell inventor like yourself should realize that."

"Now now," Cathy started, looking nervously between the two. "I think it was a great idea Severus. I would give my left arm for a pillow like that," she said, chuckling awkwardly. Snape turned his icy eyes to her, narrowing them dangerously.

"Of course," she began again rather quickly, "Severus is the potions master and he does know what he's talking about. I mean, who am I to say anything to disagree with the expert?"

Both men were now glaring at her with full force.

"Sweetheart," Sirius began, looking at his wife with an amused smile. "It's best not to say anything at all."

Ten a.m. rolled around and it was time for them to leave. Severus Snape still grumbling about the unappreciated art of potion making, Sirius still looking terribly amused, Cathy fiddling nervously with the hem of her shirt, Remus and Max with their arms thrown around each other's waists, Nero standing aggressively at the back of the group, Samantha clinging to her mother's free hand, Rachel tucked carefully into her stroller and Lily and James and Harry all at the front of the group leading the way.

They were a sight to behold as they left Harry's house as a few of their muggle neighbors stopped to stare at the group. Nero was fastening his daughter into her bright pink car seat with a smile. He waved goodbye to the group, pulling out of the Potter's driveway.

"He's going to meet us there? Oh Lily," Cathy called from her spot beside Samantha, "How are we going to be traveling? I forgot to ask."

"Portkey." She replied, taking Harry's hand as they crossed the street and into the woods.

"Porky? Which one's a porky, Sirius?"

"A _portkey_ dear," Sirius said, correcting his wife, "Refers to a giant dragon saddle that people can ride comfortably in. We use them for traveling all the time."

"A DRAGON?!"

Snape, walking behind the two of them, snickered into his sleeve.

They arrived very quickly in an alleyway beside King's Cross Station. Cathy fell backwards, hitting the ground with a thump. She looked around in amazement at the alley, her eyes coming to rest on the old hubcap they had just been holding. She grinned, flipping her bangs out of her face, until she saw her husband. Her smile vanished, and was replaced by a hearty glare.

"You told me it was a dragon. You had me believe that all the way here you- you not-very-nice person." She brushed herself off and stormed out of the alleyway to the train station.

"Perhaps, Sirius, you should learn to be honest with the people you love. That's asking too much of you though, I'm sure." Severus Snape carefully brushed off his robes, and set off in the direction of the train station himself. His short and tidy black hair gave a ruffle as the wind passed through it.

Remus and Max Tyler-Lupin quickly followed behind him. Max was twisting his blond hair up and into a ponytail. Its silk quality gave it the look of water flowing across his shoulders. He smiled, turning around to face Sirius where he stood, "Don't worry about it Sirius, she'll get over it. Besides, I thought it was hilarious."

Remus gave the tall man an elbow to the ribs, but the entire group could make out the shorter man's thin lipped smile.

"Come on Samantha," Sirius said, taking the younger girl by the hand. Lily, James and Harry were left in the alleyway by themselves for a short minute.

"Alright Harry," the boy's father began with a warm smile, "You nervous?"

Harry nodded quickly, too afraid to open his mouth due to all the loose butterflies in his stomach. It seemed like the sidewalk was rolling beneath his feat. He stood as still as he could.

"There's nothing to be nervous about, dear." Lily turned her bright green eyes to her son. "You're going to make a lot of new friends and have a lot of fun. I promise."

"I don't think I want to go." Harry was chewing on his bottom lip, suddenly interested in a small shiny beetle crawling over his left shoe.

"Of course you do," his father chimed in. "The best years of my life were at Hogwarts."

Lily gave him a reproachful look.

"Right after the years I've spent married to your mother and being with you, of course," he quickly amended, earning him a smile from his wife.

A single chime echoed from the train station.

"Ten-thirty. We had better get a move on."

The three of them arrived between platforms nine and ten. They came across three others when they got there; Samantha, Sirius and Cathy. The muggle mother was standing away from the stone pillar in front of them with a confused and untrusting look on her face.

"Cathy, dear, I promise. All you have to do is walk straight through the pillar." Sirius was doing his best to tug his wife forward, but she wasn't budging.

"Oh right, and run head first into the thing? You sure it would let me through? I don't believe it."

"Don't worry Cathy," Lily said, taking the woman's hand, "I'll guide you through."

Cathy gave a weak nod, and stepped forward a bit to Lily's side. She kept her warm eyes ahead of her, locked on to the giant brick wall.

"And you're sure it's going to let me through? I can't do the things you can, remember?" Cathy asked.

"Trust me. We best do it at a run then. Come on." Lily replied.

The two of them took off together. They ran through the two dividers coming closer and closer to the barrier itself.

"Wait, Lily. I don't think this is right! I don't FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS!"

Suddenly the two of them were gone. Harry and his father stepped forward to the barrier. James put his hand against the wall and Harry saw it sink right through the brick.

"Samantha and I will be right behind you two, go on," Sirius said with a charming grin on his face.

James took Harry's hand, and they stepped through. A burst of warm air hit his face, and he was suddenly blinded by the golden morning sunlight streaming through the high windows of platform nine and three-quarters. It was magical.

People in different colored robes were bustling back and forth. There were some loading luggage onto the train, others buying a last minute breakfast at one of the many stands along the platform, and some giving their last few farewells.

"Now Harry," his mother began, "Severus is going to help you with your luggage. If you need anything, you can find him up at the front of the train in the teacher's compartment. I love you Harry. Have a good time at school. I'll write to you everyday if you want me to."

Harry smiled, and gave his mother a hug, "I love you too, mum."

"Alright champ, you have a good year," said James with a sly smirk. "I want you to get out there and break as many rules as you can."

"James Potter," Lily said with eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Fine, break a few rules for me and then call it quits," he said. "Don't want you getting expelled, you know." Harry gave his father a huge hug.

"Harry Potter," it was the man's usual greeting, but this time it sounded like goodbye.

"Sirius Black," Harry replied, but it was without his usual enthusiasm. The two of them stared at each other in a sad sort of way.

"Chin up," Sirius finally said. He gave Harry's head a few pats. "And remember, Samantha will be there next year. Better study hard or she's going to pass you up when she gets there."

"I will," he promised.

"Harry? Oh there you all are. I thought for sure we had missed you." Nero came to a halt in front of the boy. "Do you know how hard it is to get in here? I had no idea where this place was."

"Sorry son," Remus smiled, "I forgot you didn't go to Hogwarts."

"It's fine. The sweetest woman just helped me through the gate. Has about ten kids, and you really can't miss them. They stick out, see?" Nero pointed over his shoulder and into the crowd.

At first Harry didn't know who he was talking about until he saw them. There were about seven or eight of them all huddled around together, all with flaming red hair.

"Oh my stars," Harry's mother said smiling, "James, is that?"

"Molly and Author. Yes, it is."

"Why, I haven't seen them in years. It looks like they got married and all. Sweet couple back in the day. Looks sweet now, don't they?"

"Good luck at school Harry." His Uncles Remus and Max were having their turn while everyone else was distracted. "We love you very much."

"I love you too." Harry replied, being swept up by the pair and into a hug.

"Right Harry, onto the train befo-"

"MUGGLES ON THE PLATFORM?!"A high, shrill voice cut through the cozy chatter of the platform, and the entire area was consumed by a deadly silence.

"Oh no, Sirius. Please not her." Cathy shut her eyes tight against the sound of the woman's voice. Sirius pushed his wife quickly behind him, sheltering her from the oncoming storm.

"THEY LET YOU FILTHY MUGGLES ONTO THE PLATFORM NOW?"

Several people wearing regular clothes backed against the wall, holding their kids close to them. Harry saw the two people from Diagon Alley again. Their bushy haired daughter was backed into the wall beside them, her wand was out and ready. Bellatrix LeStrange moved through the crowd, and Harry watched as people parted out of her way. She reached Sirius and his wife, and gave the woman a nasty glare.

"Bellatrix," Harry's mother said with contempt. "You should just-"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO, YOU DISGUSTING MUDBLOOD!"

Several things happened at once. Harry heard the uproar of angry cries from the people around the platform, Bellatrix removed her wand from her robe pocket, and several people rushed back.

"REDUCT-"

"FLIPENDO!"

Bellatrix was somersaulted into the nearest wall. Her back hit the bricks hard, causing her to fall on her face. The people on the platform all turned their eyes to the young girl Harry had seen earlier. She pushed her bushy brown hair out of her face.

"I'm terribly sorry. I hope I'm not in trouble. She was just going to use the reducto charm on her, and I thought that I had to do something, and really, I'm almost certain that there are laws that say that under age students can use magic in life threatening situations. Frankly if that wasn't a life threatening situation, I don't know what is, and on top of all of that there's sti-"

"Thank you, Ms…?"

"Oh!" The young girl was surprised at being thanked. She slid her wand back into her robes as quickly as she could, and took Sirius Black's hand. "Hermione Granger and you're quite welcome."

"ALL ABOARD PEOPLE! TRAIN DOESN'T WAIT FOR A FIGHT." A small squat man with bright purple eyes was ushering people onto the train. Lily Potter looked up at the clock with a gasp.

"Harry, on you go." Lily said as she ushered her son forward. "We'll miss you. Make sure you write as soon as you get there. There are a lot of school owls you're more than welcome to use. Severus will show you how. I love you!"

"I love you too, mum. Bye Dad! Bye Sirius! Bye Aunt Cathy," the train gave a sudden jerk, and Harry lost his footing for all of a second, but he was determined to say goodbye to everyone. "Goodbye Uncle Remus! Goodbye Uncle Max! Bye Samantha! Bye Nero! Goodbye Rachel!"

"HARRY," Samantha called out, "TAKE PICTURES!"

The train was moving forward and gathering speed. Harry smiled at his younger cousin.

"I DON'T HAVE A CAMERA!"

"MENTAL PICTURES! DAD'S GOT A PENSIEVE!"

Harry laughed as the train rounded a corner and the platform disappeared out of sight. He gave a heavy sigh, and leaned back into his seat. It was going to be a good year. He could feel it already.


	5. Chapter Four: The Train

_**Chapter Four: The Train**_

The train had been moving for thirty minutes, and Harry was already feeling homesick. He sat alone in his own compartment, and stared out at the countryside from his window. The tall buildings of London had given away to quiet fields and trees. Every now and then he could hear bits of spare conversation floating pass his compartment, but no one came in to say hello. He was about ready to give up on riding the train with anyone when his compartment door slid open.

Harry looked up into a deeply freckled face with icy blue eyes. He was tall, thin, and had a rather long nose for his face.

Harry smiled at the boy a bit too widely. He could feel the corners of his mouth rise up, and his lips rode up far past his teeth. He tried to correct the mistake, but unfortunately what came out looked more like a dog's grin when they are considering going for the throat. The boy at the door froze in his uncertainty and subconsciously brought his hand to the collar of his shirt and gave it a smart tug in an upward direction.

"Er," The other boy began, "Hello. Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Sure," Harry jumped in, remembering his words quickly. "I'd actually really like the company. My name is Harry."

"Ron Weasley." The tall redheaded boy offered out his hand with a smile, and Harry gladly took it. After they shook hands, Ron took the seat across from him.

"You look really familiar. I think I've seen you somewhere before. What's your last name?" Ron gave him a questioning look.

Harry flushed pink at the thought of what would be coming next. He always tried to avoid using his last name with new people if he could help it. It seemed like this time he would not be able to.

"Harry Potter," he replied.

Ron's eyes went as wide as tires at the name. He looked at Harry, and then to the compartment door, and then back at Harry once again. His jaw had gone slack. Harry knew exactly why. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that between the resemblance and his last name that-

"Your dad is James Potter, isn't he?" Ron asked with an interruption to Harry's thoughts.

Harry nodded.

"He's the Seeker for the Chudley Cannons! I love that team! He's led the Cannons to victory for the past five years. I was at the World Cup last year. I even got his autograph! He's an amazing flier. One of the best! I can't believe you know him!" Ron said with a spasm of pleasure.

Harry frowned a bit, "Yeah, I know him. I mean, he's my dad."

Ron's jaw dropped a second time. He kept his eyes trained on Harry's as if he were a ghost that would suddenly vanish. He reached out a pale freckled arm to Harry's face, but let it drop halfway there.

"Sorry mate, but I know everything about your dad. He's so cool. I started eating my toast with runny eggs. I hate runny eggs, but your dad swears by them," said Ron.

Harry actually laughed at this. "My dad actually hates runny eggs. He only started eating them like that when he got his few front teeth knocked out for a while. That was all that they said he could have for breakfast food. He complained every morning."

Ron's eyes went wide again. "This is so cool! I'm getting inside information about James Potter!"

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed again. It usually bothered him a lot more when people kept pestering or prodding him with questions and statements about his dad, but they were usually more demanding and vicious. They were most times reporters working for the Daily Prophet or washed-up writers working for tabloid trash like the Quibbler. Ron though; Ron was funny, and generally excited to hear about him. It didn't feel like he was going to run off and sell the stories Harry told him to the highest bidder.

The compartment door slid open once more, and both boys looked up this time. Harry was relieved to see a familiar face at last. He wondered briefly what had taken his best friend so long.

"Draco! Come sit by me!" Harry exclaimed.

The blond boy smiled, "Hey Harry, sorry I just got here. Couldn't find you anywhere else, and then this girl dragged me into her compartment with her smarmy friends – I couldn't get away from them. She looked like a pug."

Harry and Draco began laughing, followed by Ron who gave a kind of nervous chuckle. Draco looked over to where he was sitting and raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, who are you?" Draco asked.

Ron cleared his throat and stuck his hand straight out in front of him. Harry compared the action briefly to a battering-ram.

"I'm Ron Weasley," he said. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"Ah," Draco began with a cruel smile, "I know about your family. My Aunt talks about you lot all the time. Cheap hand-me-down clothes, second hand books, living in poverty, and huge muggle supporters, she says."

Ron looked seriously hurt. His smile faltered a bit in a sort of shocked confusion, and his arm stiffened even more in its place, if that were possible. The right corner of his bottom lip was suddenly tucked very securely into his teeth. Then, his hand began to fall from its space in front of Draco.

Harry watched this all happen in some kind of twisted slow motion. It was as if life had a terribly morbid sense of humor, and wanted Harry to see every detail of what was about to happen; a strong hatred between his best friend, and his newest friend.

Draco though had a warm and genuine smile suddenly strapped to his face. He stopped Ron's hand from falling by snatching it up and giving a few amicable shakes. The redhead gave out a little squeak of surprise.

"But I never listen to what my Aunt says about anyone. She's absolutely insane. I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm pleased to meet you, too."

Ron gave a huge grin as Draco sat beside Harry. The three boys started bits of conversation at first. They tried the weather in an awkward attempt to start anything. They moved through things they had studied before school. Ron tried to bring up Quidditch, but Harry quickly vetoed that conversation.

Things were looking pretty grim until they just relaxed and started talking about each other. Harry and Draco both found out that the Weasley's really were exceptionally poor. Ron's school robes that he dragged out of his suitcase had patches in the elbows and an old weathered name-tag that said William in an easy cursive script. He then went on to describe where he lived.

"Yeah," Ron said with an embarrassed smile, "My bedroom's on the seventh floor. I'm right under the attic. The ghoul who lives up there makes all sorts of noise. It's really awful." Harry laughed, finding it all fascinating.

"Your house has seven stories? I only have three at my house. What's it like? Does the house rock in the wind?" Draco was paying rapt attention to Ron now, and Harry guessed that it was because Draco had never liked his own upbringing all that much.

"Well, a little," Ron said, going slightly pink in the ears from all the attention, "But it's actually really pleasant. It's like the wind rocks you to sleep."

The compartment door slid open again, and this time it was a girl. Harry recognized her hair almost immediately. He stood up as she entered.

"I'm Harry Potter," the boy greeted, sticking his hand out to the girl.

"Hermione Granger," she replied, taking his hand with a smile.

Harry saw that he had caught her off-guard with his immediate introduction, but he wanted to get to know her. He had seen her three times before now, and the last time she just might have saved his Uncle from a terrible jinx.

"That was absolutely fantastic what you did out there on the platform. It was really impressive." Harry was still shaking Hermione's hand, but he didn't notice it at all.

"Oh," she said, a deep red blush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. "That was nothing, really. It was just a simple flipendo spell. It's in the Basic Spell-Book for Beginners."

"Well," Harry began, finally letting go of the girl's hand, "Come in and sit down. This is Draco and Ron." He pointed to the two boys accordingly. They both gave her two smiling nods in return.

"Oh no, I was just looking for something. It appears that a boy up at the front has lost a pin. It should be gold and red with a large letter 'P' on the front. He's the Gryffindor Prefect this year."

Ron suddenly went scarlet, "Did he have glasses?"

Hermione looked over at him, "As a matter of fact, he did. He also has the same exact hair as you."

Ron's face turned an even deeper color of red. He slid down into his seat, and lowered his head as much as he could. She smiled at the three of them.

"Maybe I'll come back later if I find the badge. That is, if you'd want me to?" Hermione looked out into the hallway over her shoulder and then back in again. Harry could see a light pink tint across her cheeks.

"Sure," Harry said, "Of course you can. We'd love to have you."

"Thanks," she said, awkwardly shuffling her feet in the doorway. She opened her mouth to say something else, but decided against it. Instead, she nodded and left.

The compartment door slid closed and Draco busted out in a fit of laughter.

"Oooh Hermione," the blond began, putting on his best impersonation of Harry, "We'd love you to come and sit with us. I looooove your hair!" Ron was clutching his side and biting his lower lip to keep himself from laughing.

"Ha ha, Draco." Harry turned, glaring at his best friend beside him. "But if it hadn't been for your Aunt this morning, I wouldn't have cared."

Draco went suddenly silent, and very red in the face.

"Why Harry?" Ron asked, "What did his Aunt do?"

Draco sighed, and turned to face Ron, "You know that woman who started screaming on the platform?"

"No!" Ron exclaimed, amazed.

"Yes," Draco replied.

"That was your-"

"Yes."

"Wow!"

"I know."

"My mother calls her a raving loony."

"She is."

Ron and Harry both started to laugh while Draco glared at them, but his face eventually broke into a wide smile.

A few hours went by, and the three didn't stop talking once. They spoke about the sorting process. They talked about flying lessons, and how exciting they were going to be for Draco and Ron. They even discussed what subjects they were hoping to have. When the trolley came by, Harry and Draco threw into together to buy the three of them some of everything.

The scenery outside had faded into a burnt gold as the sun was beginning to set. Harry, Ron and Draco were all sitting around eating chocolate frogs and licorice wands. They had finally gotten to the boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans when the compartment door slid open – Hermione Granger had returned.

"Hello again," she said.

"Hey Hermione," Harry replied, "We were just about to have a go at some Bertie Bott's. Want to join us?"

The young girl smiled at the three of them, and took a seat next to Ron. The boy inched a bit away from her to try and give her some more space. The girl grabbed a box of Bertie Bott's, and picked a pretty and shiny pink one of off the top. She popped it into her mouth in one quick motion and her nose instantly wrinkled.

"Oh terrible," she said, grabbing a napkin and then spitting the offensive food into it. "Raw salmon." She folded the napkin up daintily and tossed it into the waste bin in the corner.

"So," Draco said with a smile, "Did you ever find that boys badge?"

"It was really ridiculous, you know. I had been going up and down the train for two hours looking for that boy's badge." Ron had started to blush again, but Hermione had propped up her feet beside Draco and had closed her eyes. "So I finally go back to the prefect's compartment to tell him that I had no luck, when I spot something silver over his right pocket. It turned out that he had fastened his badge to the inside of his robes by accident. Utterly ridiculous."

Ron had slid down his seat again, his face matching the color of his hair. Draco and Harry were laughing along with Hermione. She finally opened her eyes, looking around at the compartment's occupants.

"You know," she began, sitting up straight, "We're going to be there pretty soon. You should all change into your uniforms now."

She stood up and stretched her legs. "I'll go and stand out in the hall while you change."

The three boys began opening their trunks overhead as Hermione left, pulling down the drapes as she went. Harry had to drag his trunk down from the top after realizing he had stuffed all of his clothes down at the bottom. Harry got a pair of pants, throwing the robe over his head, and started on his tie.

"Harry, you know how to tie a tie?" Draco was holding his out in front of him like he had no idea what the thing was. For all he knew, it could have been dangerous. Harry laughed aloud, stepping past Ron to help him with the tie.

Harry took it out of the blonde's hands, and draped it carefully over the back of the boy's neck. He took his collar, rolling it up so that the tie would lie flat, and began his work. He let the wide end fall down past the collar a bit longer than the narrow end. Carefully stepping behind the blonde boy, he wrapped his arms around his waist and peaked over his shoulder.

Harry had a look of stern concentration across his face. His fingers smoothed the two ends out carefully to make sure that there would be no wrinkles after he twisted the fabric. He was caught off guard for a minute by the smell of Draco's robes. They didn't have the same odorless new robe smell that Harry's had.

"Draco," Harry said as he tugged the wide piece down to the perfect length, "Have you been wearing your robes?"

"Maybe," Draco replied guiltily. "I just wanted to see what they looked like on. I kinda look cool."

The blond chuckled nervously, as if he were embarrassed by this statement, "How did you know?"

Harry smiled widely, "They smell like you."

Draco lifted the sleeve of his robe to his nose, and gave it a suspicious sniff, "I hope that's a good thing."

"It is," Harry replied. He gave Draco's wrist a slap to get it out of the way. Draco smelled like vanilla, lavender, and something else he had never been able to put his finger on. It was an earthy under-tone. It was like moss growing on the side of a tree, or a fallen limb that was rotting away in a humid forest.

Harry quickly slipped the finished the knot up to the boy's throat and rolled the collar back down. It was perfectly done, and the shiny black material looked beautiful against the pale skin of his throat.

The boys finished getting dressed and brought Hermione back in from outside. She looked at Harry and Draco, but grimaced when her eyes caught Ron's tie.

"What is that?" She asked appalled.

Ron looked down at his tie, "It's a tie. What's it look like?"

Harry snorted, finally catching a glimpse of the tie in question. It was horridly done. The thin piece of the tie was hanging about six inches down pass the wide end, and the wide end was facing inside out to begin with. Hermione sighed, taking out her wand and giving his tie a sharp poke.

"Ouch! That hurt, you know," he exclaimed.

The tie, on the other hand, jumped into overdrive to correct itself. It flipped, twisted, and wriggled around on Ron's dress shirt, until it became a gorgeous double Windsor knot.

"Right," Ron said, rubbing his collar bone where Hermione had given him the jab, "I coulda done that myself, ya know."

Hermione giggled, taking her seat again.

The rest of the train ride went by without a hitch. Hermione was telling the three boys about some of the interesting things she had memorized out of her school books, which was the first six chapters. Ron was trying to loosen his tie, but every time he would the thing would shrink back up to his neck. Draco had spread out across the seat and had dozed off with his feet in Harry's lap.

"Ron, would you pass me that last wrapped sandwich?" Hermione asked.

Ron nodded, and handed her the brown paper package she was gesturing towards. Draco rolled over on his side, and cracked an eye at Hermione.

"Sorry Draco," she whispered, giving him a warm smile, "I'll be a bit quieter."

"That's not it. The train is slowing down," he said with mild excitement.

Harry leaned over to look out of the window, and he turned back to the other three with a wide smile.

"That's because we're here," he said.

The other three in the compartment were immediately at the window, and gazing out across the dark expanse of terrain. Up in the distance was a beautiful little town lit up like a swarm of fireflies trapped under a glass dish. Lights in the windows were flickering in and out, and the tall lampposts were casting a beautiful golden glow over the entire place.

The train pulled up under a large iron archway that displayed the village's name and two large pigs with a pair of wings outstretched on their backs. Printed in front of their snouts was Hogsmede.


	6. Chapter Five: The Sorting Hat

_**Chapter Five: The Sorting Hat**_

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco climbed off the Hogwarts Express with eager smiles. Hogsmede was bustling, with most of its residents greeting the new students and sharing the adventures that they once had at school. Harry could hear a beautiful young witch telling one of the first years some of the many secrets of Hogwarts.

Shop windows were ablaze with the warm glow of candle light. Harry could see odd and ends stuffed precariously on store shelves from where he was standing, and a few loose shutters waved lazily in the wind on screechy hinges. He was even entranced by the stonework in the street. His eyes followed the rough cracks under his feet, looking for some pattern there.

"FIRS YERHS!FIRS YERHS OVER HERE!" Harry looked up and up and up to see the face of one of the largest men he had ever known.

"Whoa," Ron whispered, staring up at the giant of a man. Hermione gave him a slight smile.

"He must be part giant," Harry heard Hermione whisper to Ron and Draco. "That's the only explanation."

Harry and the rest quickly fell into line behind a gathering group of people in front of him. The man was large with a big bushy brown beard and wavy hair. His shiny black eyes scanned the crowd around him.

"Right, that everyone then? My name is Hagrid. I'll be showing you the way down to the docks. All first years get to the castle by boats, but when ya get to yer second year you can ride inna carriages. Off we go! Follow me now," he bellowed.

They followed the giant of a man around the Hogwarts Express and down to a rickety dock perched over a black lake. The stars in the night sky reflected beautifully off of the glassy smooth surface of the water. Set near the dock was a line of rowboats. Each of these could sit about four people and had a small lantern attached to the front.

"We'll be goin' o'er in these. I hafta get one to meself, but the restuhyuh can sit with who you like. It'll be a short trip to the castle from here and then you can all be sorted intuhyur houses. Go on then, intuh the boats."

A few students eyed the boats suspiciously, wondering if they were even sea worthy. Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ron climbed into one of the closer ones to the dock. The boat gave a short dip before steadying itself on the water's surface.

"These don't look safe. Are you even a teacher?" asked a girl near the edge of the dock. Her eyes were staring at the much larger man.

"Harry," Draco whispered, "It's Pansy Parkinson. That's the girl I was telling you about. She's the one who wouldn't let me leave her compartment."

Harry had heard that name before, but had never seen the girl before now. He looked back to her, and did indeed see the resemblance of a pug there. He smirked at the blond, giving him a small thumbs up. Ron overheard the two of them and started to laugh silently from where he sat.

"Er- well, I am the grounds keeper here, and these boats have never let me down before. You could ride in mine if it makes yuh feel any safur!" The man gave her a warm smile only to have her return it with a sneer.

"I don't trust the boats. What makes you think I'd feel better if you rode with me? We'd surely sink." She laughed loudly with her friends joining in.

"Well then, I- Er- Suppose you_"

"No." the girl interrupted, "You don't suppose anything, do you?"

The docks had gone eerily silent. No one dared to say anything, at all. Harry's blood began to boil, and his head pounded. His mother had always told him he had his father's temper, and he should learn to control it, but this was just cruel and mean. Who did that girl think she was talking to a person like that?

"Now- er- see here. That's not a very- er- nice thing to say to someone."

"How much giant do you have in you anyway? It's not like you have feelings. Why don't you just get to rowing the boats then," she said in a snide voice. She threw a nasty look at the man in front of her.

No one was laughing anymore – not even the girl's own group of friends. Everyone noticed the hurt look on the man's face.

Harry stood up in his boat, causing it to rock under his weight. Hermione clasped the side of it, and tried to steady the thing before it tipped.

"That's enough." All eyes were on Harry now, including the man's watery ones. Harry's temper shot through the roof.

"Excuse me?" the girl's drawling voice did nothing to help Harry's temper. He gritted his teeth, and tried with every effort not to shout.

"I said. That. Is. Enough," Harry spoke through gritted teeth.

The pug faced girl gave a wicked smile with her eyes gleaming with hatred. "Yes, I think it is enough. You, giant, can lead me to the carriages. I might even let you pull it for a shiny knut. How does that sound?"

"RICTUSEMPRA!" A flash of purple light hit the girl in the chest. Her face contorted into a huge grin before she collapsed in a fit of laughter. She squirmed on the dock like a fish out of water, her hands scrambling frantically to cover every part of her body. Her small eyes watered and her face turned a delicate shade of blue.

"Stop! Please-Stop! I- Can't- Breathe!" Her words were coming out one at a time between bits of insane laughter.

"Tha's enough uh tha," Hagrid said. He had managed to gain his composer enough to take on the role of authority once again.

Harry pulled his wand away, breaking the jinx. The man hurried over to help the girl off of the dock, grabbing her by the shoulders as he hoisted her up in one great lift.

"Don't touch me, half-breed," the girl screamed with a shrill and nasally voice.

Hagrid stopped in his tracks. His face was completely dumbfounded, and he lacked the proper response. Harry supposed he hadn't been called that in quite some time. It really shocked him down to the bones, and he immediately took two quick steps backward. He opened his mouth to say something, but choked on his words.

"What's wrong half-breed, are you going to cry?" Pansy asked with a slanted smile. Her tone was as thick as poisoned honey.

The girl hadn't learned her lesson, and as far as Harry could tell, she never would. A new hatred bubbled up inside of him.

"Flipendo!"

The girl did an ingenious somersault off of the dock and into one of the boats with her head hitting the bottom with a dull thunk - she stayed out cold. Harry looked down beside him at Hermione, noticing that her wand was out and was still pointing at the spot where the girl had stood a moment before.

"Nice one Hermione." Draco commented with a wide smile. Harry could see the blood creeping up the girl's neck and into her face again.

"It was really nothing – easy as pie," she said with a confident smile.

"Right, yuh all finish loading up, an when we get to tha castle I'll- er- help Ms. Parkinson to the infirmary." As the rest of the students moved to get into the boats, the half-giant walked over to the quartet's rowboat.

"Thanks fir tha." He said, smiling down at the four of them. "I'm Hagrid to the students, but to me friends I'm Rubeus. Call me whichever suits you best."

He stuck out his hand, and the four of them shook it at once. Hagrid smiled at them again.

"Hermione Granger." Hermione said, introducing herself.

Draco, Harry, and Ron all followed her example closely. When Harry said his name Hagrid was quite flabbergasted.

"Harry Potter? You don't say? I watch all yur dad's games. Or at least listen to um. I get 'em on me radio," he said with a smile.

Harry smiled back as he sat back down in his boat. After everyone had gotten situated, they were off. The castle itself loomed nearer and nearer. It was almost like being in a dream; the glassy surface of the lake reflected the light of the lanterns. The night was cool, and Harry smiled when the boats had finally hit the rocky slope where the steps led to the inside Hogwarts.

Hagrid led them up the steep steps, coming to stop right outside of a large wooden door. He raised a fist and knocked. A petite, yet stern looking witch answered the door.

"Hagrid, what happened? We thought you had run into some trouble." The woman's eyes came to rest on the limp form of the girl in Hagrid's arms. "Dear Lord, what happened to her?"

"Tripped, she did." Hagrid replied. "Fell head first into one of the boats."

"Well, take her up to the infirmary. I can't say that Madame Pomfrey will be pleased to see you. She just opened the doors to the wing. I doubt she's even unpacked," said the witch with a chiding tone.

Hagrid gave the woman a stiff nod before stepping around her and heading into the castle. The woman turned her gaze back to the students, and eyed them all in a suspicious manner.

"Hello and welcome. I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be your Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor house. I am also the Headmistress in charge. I will need your utmost attention," she began.

Silence crept over the student body, and only when all eyes were trained solely on Professor McGonagall, did she continue.

"I will lead you up into the Great Hall where you shall be sorted one by one into your houses. The houses are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Now, just because you are sorted into different houses does not mean that friendship cannot go beyond that. We encourage you to have friends outside of your own houses."

She looked over the students before her with a smile, "Good, now if you are ready, follow me."

Follow they did. Through marble laden floors and pass suits of armor. Moving pictures danced and waved from the walls above them, and a few students waved back. Finally, they reached a second set of large wooden double doors. The old witch pushed the doors open with a flourish, and they were all greeted to applause and cheers.

The ceiling above them was sparkling with stars, and Harry could even see a few clouds hanging high and misty above their heads. He gazed in wonder at it.

"It's not really the sky," he heard Hermione say, "it's just been enchanted to look like it. I read it in Hogwarts, A History once."

They came to a sudden standstill in front of the Professors' table. Placed in front of them was a three legged stool and an old tattered hat.

"It's the Sorting Hat," Hermione whispered to Harry, her eyes shimmering with enthusiasm at the sight, "It's the smartest hat in the world! They say that it can hear every thought you've ever had."

"When I call your name," McGonagall began, "You will come up, and slip the hat over your head. Abbot, Hannah."

A short girl with straight, brown hair and a small overbite stepped forward. After taking the hat, she sat down and placed it over her head. There was silence for a split second.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The great hall erupted in applause. All were smiling while the center right table was standing, ushering her over to sit down. Harry stopped listening for a minute, looking around at the different things in the hall – the ceiling, the floating candles and the gleaming empty dinner plates on all the tables.

"Granger, Hermione."

Harry watched in apt attention as his new friend went up to the stool. She sat down and carefully placed the hat over her head, where it rested silently on the top of her bushy brown hair for a few seconds.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry applauded frantically for the girl as she hurried off to the far right side of the room. She held up two crossed fingers at Harry with a smile. He crossed his own, holding them up for her to see. Quite a few more names were called before one he knew came up again.

"Malfoy, Draconis."

Harry sniggered loudly at Draco's full name as the boy passed him. The blond gave him a playful glare before taking his seat. As the hat dipped low over his head, Harry inched closer to try and hear what was being said.

"Ah," the hat whispered, "Malfoy. I remember your family quite well, but you're not like them at all, are you? No, I think not. You're different, but very special. I know where you belong, my friend. I've always been known to tell you the truth, but I don't get to talk very often, do I? Might as well take my time, right? Let's see… GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry suddenly burst with a giddy kind of excitement. He clapped and whistled at the boy, smiling all the while as he took a seat across from Hermione. They were both staring at Harry expectantly.

"Potter, Harry."

There were a few gasps and murmurs that ran wildly through the crowd. Harry smirked as he took his seat at the front. The hat was slipped over his head, and the room left his vision.

"Ah," Harry heard the hat whisper, "Harry Potter. Yes, I remember your mother quite well. You certainly have her brain, don't you? You've got your father's temper too. I can feel it burning in my brim. I know what to do with you. I'll place you in… RAVENCLAW!"

Harry's heart broke. He felt a weight crash onto his shoulders that was so heavy he didn't know if he could stand up off of the stool. The hat was lifted off of his head, and when the room swam into clarity, he could see only one thing, Hermione and Draco's faces. They were both so filled with disappointment; not at Harry, but at the missed opportunity of not being able to be in the same house.

Professor McGonagall was grabbing his arm, trying to pull him up, but Harry wouldn't budge. He looked the woman in the eye with complete determination.

"I want another go."

Professor McGonagall looked taken aback, but quickly regained her composure. "I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but that's how it goes. Off the stool now."

"No, I want another chance." The Great Hall had gone oddly silent. Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to speak, but she was suddenly cut off by the hat in her hands.

"Put me back on the boy! I've made a mistake."

The witch looked from the hat to Harry and then to a very old man at the center of the staff table. Harry could only guess that this man was Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts. The headmaster gave one nod, and the witch gave up. She placed the hat back on Harry's head.

"I knew I had made a mistake as soon as I left your head, Harry Potter. Be amazed, I have never made a single mistake before now. I'm sure you shall go down in history. Perhaps not, but it is nice to dream. Do you know what I felt the moment I left your head?"

Harry shook his head quickly.

"I felt disappointment. You were terribly disappointed at the simple idea of being taken away from your friends. I felt your heart break. It's the first time someone's heart has ever broken while wearing me – awful stuff indeed. You know what that says to me, Harry?"

Harry shook his head again.

"It says to me that you're loyal, terribly loyal; more loyal than I, for I have been with many thoughts in my time and never felt for any, except you. Odd, isn't it?"

Harry nodded silently.

"Do you know what it would take for a student to defy all of the teachers and students at Hogwarts? Bravery. To openly say no to one of the sternest witches of this school does make you brave indeed, Harry Potter. Brave, or stupid, perhaps. Though, what is bravery without a little reckless ambition?"

Harry shrugged.

"So, bravery abounding, cunning overflowing, wit beyond measure and loyalty like no other; I have nowhere to put you." the hat whispered softly. "So, I leave it up to you: Ravenclaw where the smartest dwell, Hufflepuff where friends excel, Gryffindor where the brave at heart dwell or Slytherin where cunning's art."

"Gryffindor please. With my friends."

"I see then," the hat whispered. The seam at the brim of the hat opened then, and let out a tremendous yell. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Great Hall erupted into applause once again, and this time Harry ran down to sit beside Draco.

"What was that all about?" Draco asked.

"Dunno, I just knew that the hat had made a mistake."

Hermione gave Harry a wide smile and two thumbs up. Harry returned both of them enthusiastically.

The list of names continued on until, "Weasley, Ronald."

"His full name's Ronald?" Hermione giggled in her seat, watching closely as the hat went over Ron's head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron jumped off of the stool and ran to join the growing numbers of Gryffindor. He smiled as he sat next to Hermione.

"Good job Ron." A red haired boy called from the right side of the table.

"Yeah, we were sure you'd be in Hufflepuff," commented another boy who looked identical to the last.

"Mum's gunna be so proud." said the one on the right.

"Yeah I can hear her tears of joy from here. Fred's already sent the letter to mum. She's gunna be angry you didn't send it to her first."

"Yeah," said Fred, "You should be ashamed of yourself Bilius. George was right about you being the worst brother ever."

"I told ya." said George with a nasty grin.

"I just sat down from being sorted. How was I supposed to send her a letter already?"

"We managed, didn't we?"

Harry laughed, taking a gulp of water from the goblet in front of him. A silence spread slowly over the students, and Harry didn't have to look hard to know why. The old wizard in the center of the staff table had risen, and was approaching the students. His hands were raised to bring attention to himself. When the whole hall had quieted, he spoke.

"To the new students we have this year, welcome. To the old students we still have this year, welcome back." He gave a half amused smile at the student body before continuing. "As usual, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has extended the banned objects list this year. The full list in its entirety can be found posted on his office door. I would also like to remind students that the Forbidden Forest is indeed, as its name implies, forbidden. I have one last thing to say before I can allow you to eat though."

The crowd of students remained silent, but the old man did not continue. Harry was sure he was doing his best at a dramatic pause, and couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Tuck in."

In front of the students, a huge feast appeared out of thin air. Harry smiled, grabbing bits and pieces of what he recognized as his favorite foods. The four friends talked, ate, and drank for the next half hour until all of the food in front of them switched to an array of fascinating desserts.

"Harry," Draco began with a smile, "They have treacle tarts. They're fantastic and they've even got several plates of cream custard." Harry gave his best friend a smile, helping himself to a large cut of cherry pie.

"You know," Ron launched through a mouthful of food, "My mum's a grfeat kef. Jeecun make lozashtuff." The redheaded boy swallowed his food. "She's just made this great roast for dinner the other night! It was fantastic."

Hermione grimaced as a few bits of food sprayed over the table from Ron's mouth. She scooted a little further from him. The young boy went pink in his ears, covering his mouth and muttering an apology.

When the desserts disappeared, Dumbledore stood once again. The Great Hall quickly became silent and Harry turned his head to watch the old wizard speak.

"You all have had a long train ride. It was tiring, I am sure. So, I dismiss you to your appropriate houses. Rest well so that tomorrow you will be ready for your first day of classes. I bid you all goodnight."

Harry and the others stood, being led out of the hall by their assigned Prefect. He was a tall and very thin boy with flaming red hair and horn-rimmed glasses. He also had a long nose and a freckled face. Harry looked from the Prefect to Ron and then back again.

"Hello first years; I am one of the Gryffindor Prefects this year, Percy Weasley." He smiled around the large group of students when his eyes landed on Ron. "Ronald, there you are. You should write a letter to mum as soon as we get to the tower. She was very upset to hear from George and Fred that you made it into Gryffindor but not from you."

"You mean," Ron began astounded, "She's already written back?"

"Well of course she has." Percy replied.

"Bloody hell," he responded shamefacedly.

"Now first years, we're going to be heading for Gryffindor tower. The most direct way to get there is through the Grand Stairwell. Follow me and try to keep up. The stairs move and I don't need any of you lost," said Percy.

The students entered the Grand Stairwell and began the long climb to Gryffindor tower. Pictures hung from every corner of the walls; each one greeting the students as they passed by. Harry himself had a kiss blown to him from a young painted maiden carrying a milk jug. The group of first years was talking among themselves; some in excited whispers and others in long bored drawls. As they passed the sixth floor, the stairs began to shift, ending with half of the group being left behind on the platform below.

Most of the students were laughing and giggling as the staircase slid silently across the air, but a few others had decided to take seats and had clung to the railing. When the stairs stopped moving, Percy stood brushing off his black robes.

"Alright," Percy called over the crowd, "To the students who were left on the platform below. The picture behind you is a passageway to the seventh floor." Percy looked around the crowd of students who were now standing opposite of where the rest of the group was.

"You there!"Percy exclaimed. The tall redheaded Prefect was pointing at a thin, handsomely faced boy at the front of the group. He was short, but Harry could tell that he had a bit of muscle tone to him. The boy ran a confident hand through his chestnut brown hair with a smile.

"Yes?" The boy answered. Harry saw a girl beside him swoon into one of her friends. They all laughed together.

"What's your name?" Percy asked.

"Neville Longbottom, sir," the boy replied.

"Right, Neville, give the old witch in the picture the password "freezing peaks," Percy said.

Neville turned away from Percy, moving through the students and toward the painting behind them. It was a rather large painting of a woman dressed in piles of clothes. She was painted in a rocking chair, sitting on the surface of an icy lake surrounded by mountains. Neville approached the painting with a confident grin.

"W-w-w-what's the p-password?" the old witch chattered.

"Freezing peaks," Neville replied.

"Damn r-right it is." With that said, the old witch tapped her foot on the surface of the lake, and the portrait frame swung open.

"Great," Percy called over the heads of the students, "Just take that path all the way up. We'll meet you there."

Both groups of students carried on their own ways. Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ron reached the seventh floor with Percy in no time, coming to rest in front of a great framed portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.

"Right, we had better wait for the others to catch up before we go in, or they won't know the password."

"They're through here," came a disembodied from down the corridor. "I can hear them now."

Out from around the corner stepped the same handsome faced boy carrying a burning torch. His large brown eyes caught sight of the group ahead of him and he let out a triumphant yell, startling half the group behind him.

"Mr. Longbottom." Percy began with a harsh glare, "Where on earth did you manage to get that bit of torchwood?"

"It was in the passageway, and how about you not telling us of the fork in the road - almost did us in that did. Luckily my mum told me that the fastest way out of a cave or passageway is whichever way the draft is blowing. Count yourself lucky I was there or else these students would have gotten lost under your care."

Percy visibly paled, and Harry could see that a lump had stuck in his throat. The bespectacled boy swallowed hard.

"Right, thanks then. You can put that torch out now," he said.

Neville nodded, throwing the torch to the ground, and pulling out his wand. The muscled boy gave the wand a powerful upward flick and spoke the word, "_Aguamenti." _

A fountain of water suddenly flowed out of the tip of the boy's wand, and the last breath of flames were ghosted out with a hiss. Hermione's eyes widened in awe.

"That's a third year spell. I haven't even accomplished that yet. I've tried, but I'm not so good with practical magic. I'm a theory kind of girl," she said with a timid look.

"Right."Percy said, waving his arms through the air as if he were trying to give a giant several hugs at once, "Gather round. I'm only going to say the password once. So pay attention."

The Fat Lady quickly looked his way with a wink, "You'd know I'd open for you no matter what you said, Mr. Weasley."

A few girls near the back of the group giggled as a blush of scarlet crept into Percy's cheeks. The Prefect looked around wildly at the other first years with a glare, pushing his glasses up on his nose. He turned back to the portrait with a nervous smile.

"Wistful Wandash."

"You," the Fat Lady began, "May enter, gorgeous." The Fat Lady had suddenly removed a handkerchief from the strap of her pink dress, and began waving it to and fro in front of the students; her eyes directed to Percy.

The Gryffindor students entered the common room in awed silence. They gathered around the sitting area, everyone smiling at the décor as they were quickly warmed up by the crackling fire on the far side of the room. A few pictures winked and smiled down at them from their spots on the wall. Percy gathered them together with another odd flourish of his arms.

"Welcome students to your common room," the boy began with an air of importance. "This will be your new home away from home here at Hogwarts. The girls' dormitories are to the left and up the stairs, the same with boys but on the right. I'll let you go to get unpacked and settled in."

Harry, Draco and Ron said goodnight to Hermione and left for their own dormitories. They reached the first landing on the stairs, finding a small stone plaque with the words "first years" carved into them. They continued down a long hallway where the wallpaper was a deep burgundy with an interweaving pattern of vines in gold.

"So," Draco began with a smile, "Where are we staying?"

The three boys passed a door bearing five names on it, none of which they recognized. Harry scanned each door they passed until they finally reached the fourth door from the end. There were five names etched into the door in the same flowing handwriting that had been carved into the stone.

"Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley," Draco read out. "Looks like we all get to be roommates."

Harry laughed, and shook his head, "What are the chances of us all ending up in the same house and the same dormitory room?"

Ron shrugged, "Not very likely, but I guess it's true what my mum says – sometimes life's funny."

The three of them laughed together as Harry opened the door. The room was large itself, but very cozy as the five queen beds took up a lot of the space. In the center was an old iron fireplace, happily crackling away. Harry heaved a great sigh of relief as he headed over to the bed that his trunk had been placed in front of. He collapsed on the feather mattress with a huge smile.

The raven haired boy closed his eyes, resting them after a long day. When he felt the bed dip slightly beside him, he caught a glimpse of platinum blond hair. Harry rolled over to face his best friend with a smile, but it was not returned at once. Draco's eyebrows were knitted together, and his usual smiling face formed a deep frown.

Harry propped himself up on his elbow to get a better look at the boy, "What's wrong, Draco?"

Draco turned his light grey eyes to Harry. They reminded him of his mother's antique hand mirror. It was always polished and shining, but the back of it had become scratched and smudged with time. That had been Harry's favorite side of the mirror, and sometimes his mother would come into the room and catch him staring at it. She used to tell him that he was very wise to find a different kind of beauty in a mirror other than just a person's own reflection.

"I was wondering if my mum and dad miss me already. I miss them," Draco spoke in a small voice. Harry smiled back at the blond boy.

"Well," he began, "Tomorrow we can go to the Owlery and write them a letter."

Draco stayed there for a moment in thought, not blinking at all, and Harry took in the sight of his eyes again. Harry swore that if he looked hard enough he could see chips of blue mixed in with stormy grey.

"Hey guys, I think our new roommates are coming!" Ron exclaimed, bringing Harry back to reality. Draco blinked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up on Harry's bed.

Sure enough, the door to their dormitory room swung open to reveal Neville Longbottom and, who Harry had to assume was, Seamus Finnegan. The other boy was tall and gangly with sandy colored hair. His dress shirt was untucked and sticking out from under his jumper. Neville walked forward to the closest person in the room, which happened to be Ron, and stuck his hand out enthusiastically.

"Neville Longbottom," the boy began, giving Ron a small wink. "Pleased to be meeting my new mates for the next seven years."

Harry laughed as Neville passed his hand to him next, "Harry Potter."

"As in James Potter?" Harry nodded at Neville's question. He was quite used to the attention.

"Neat." Neville said, giving Harry the exact same wink. Draco gave a short scoff, passing it off as a cough when Neville turned to him.

"Draco Malfoy." he said, taking the boy's right hand.

"Right." said Neville, "This is Seamus Finnegan. He and I were just talking about classes tomorrow. Harry, what do you think your favorite subject is going to be?"

Neville sat on Harry's bed, scooting closer to the boy. Draco leaned back against the pillows with a half agitated look.

"My mum was really good at potions and Severus is teaching it, so probably that." Neville scooted a bit closer to the boy with an awed look on his face.

"You're on first name basis with the Potions Master?"

Draco had to pull his legs up to his chest as Neville had suddenly fallen backwards across Harry's bed. The steel-eyed boy threw a glare at Neville, but the other missed it.

"Well, I can't call him Severus here, but I've known him since I was born. He's a really good friend of my mum's."

"That's neat." Neville began, sitting up with a yawn. The short boy had flung his robes over his head and had started to unbutton his shirt. He grabbed his tie next, yanking it out of its knot in one smooth jerk. The boy was half naked, standing in the middle of the dorm room with his back fully exposed to Harry. All across his skin were shiny silver scars.

"Neville," Harry began, "Where did you get all those scars from?"

Neville looked over his shoulder at Harry with a bright smile, "Those are from a racing accident. I just got a Nimbus 2000 over the summer and my brother and I were racing around the field behind my house."

"You have a Nimbus 2000?" Ron's jaw was hanging slack, his eyes shining like marbles.

Neville laughed loudly, throwing an even bigger smile at Ron, "Sure do."

Seamus Finnegan had moved from the doorway to sit on his bed. He pulled off his shoes and socks before he fell backwards against his pillows. The Irish boy had thrown an arm over his eyes as he lay on his back.

"Well, we were racing around the field behind my house when BAM!" Neville brought both of his hands together in a sudden clap, causing Harry, Ron and Draco to all jump. Seamus didn't move at all, and Harry guessed it was because he had just been told this story before coming in.

"I had run right into an apple tree," Neville began laughing and it didn't take long for Harry and Ron to join in. "I had been so busy looking behind that I hadn't even seen it. Fell six feet through brittle branches and landed on my dad's prickled snapper bush at the bottom. He's got them all over the place, being a Herbologist and all. My mum was so mad. She made him rip them all out of the ground. He was practically traumatized."

Ron had doubled over on himself, clutching at his sides as if they were going to split open. Harry was laughing on his bed, doubled over as well and even Draco had begun to laugh at that point. Neville had crossed the room, kicking off his shoes in the process. The brown eyed boy had collapsed on his bed in just his pants.

The energy in the room soon slowly died down, and the four residents had begun unpacking and personalizing their space. Ron had tacked up several posters, and when Harry saw them, he groaned aloud.

"What?" Ron questioned, looking at Harry with a wide grin.

"Ron, I don't want my own dad flitting around the room. It's just odd," he said.

Ron's posters were of the Chudley Cannons, and most of them were of the whole team together. However, there were a few of his dad, winking and smiling down at all of them. Neville let out a hearty laugh at the look on Harry's face.

"Well," Ron began, "You want me to take them down then?"

Harry was torn. While on one hand he didn't want his father floating around the room at night; he also didn't want to tell his new friend that he couldn't hang them on the wall.

Harry gave another groan, "Would you mind just taking the ones of my dad by himself down?"

Ron laughed, "Sure! I wouldn't want my father watching me at school either, but I doubt they make posters of ministry officials." The five boys laughed together.

"Your dad works in the Ministry of Magic," Seamus began, finally speaking up.

"Yeah, he works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. Nothing fancy."

Seamus looked stunned, "Has he ever met, You-Know-Who?"

Ron laughed, "You mean Minister Riddle? Once or twice."

Harry had a sudden and splitting headache. It burned terribly over his left eye for a moment, and he hissed in pain. The other four boys in the room gave him a concerned look.

"Harry," Draco said, crawling over to where the boy sat, "Are you alright? What's the matter?"

Harry shook his head, "Nothing, my scar was just hurting."

"Scar," Draco repeated, his voice had even more worry etched into it. "What scar?"

"I said," Harry began again, "My head was just hurting."

Neville smiled at the boy, "No mate, you said scar. It's nothing, though; you're probably just suffering from a case of scar envy." The five boys busted out in another round of laughter.

The night wore on and the boys had all gotten into their pajamas aside from Neville; he had just kicked off his pants and crawled into bed. When Harry finally climbed into his own bed, it was very late and he was very tired. His first night at Hogwarts had gone great. He could only hope that the rest of the year would be just as fantastic.

Peter Pettigrew was suddenly there in the forefront of his mind. He couldn't say why or what had brought him up again, but his empty blue eyes were there. His lips downturned and mouthing nonsense invaded his thoughts like a whispered rumor. He cringed, throwing his face into his pillow and shutting his eyes tight.

"High on a hill," he mumbled, trying to clear his head, "In an enchanted garden, enclosed by tall walls and protected by strong magic was the Fountain of Fair Fortune."

His mother had told him once, that if anything ever was troubling him, he should think of something that made him happy until the bad feelings passed. Harry Potter repeated that first line over and over again until he fell asleep.


End file.
